A Tale of Two Times
by Ojex XIII
Summary: Begun By Blood sequel. In the future, demons rule the world and humanity is all but extinct. In a last effort to save the world, the teenage son of Rai and Kim goes back in time to warn his parents and their friends as teens of the apocalyptic future.
1. Prologue

(a/n) I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but then I thought "its christmas eve. why not post it now?" so yeah, this is the prologue to the fourth and final installment of my "Fifth Dragon" series. enjoy.

* * *

A Tale of Two Times

Prologue

One was a time of peace, the other a time of chaos. One was a world of slumber, the other a world of war. One was plunged into prosperity, the other plunged into despair. One was filled with silent heroes, the other filled with power hungry villains. One was embraced by light, the other consumed by darkness. One was an age of happiness, the other an age of death. This is the story of these two times: their heroes; their villains; their sorrows; their happiness; their life; their end; and their convergence. This is the story of the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.

~THE FUTURE~

It was raining, dark clouds hanging in the night sky over the half ruined city. Everywhere buildings were crumbling, fissures ran through every street. Cars and parts of them were scattered everywhere, some ripped in half, some crashed through buildings, and others dangling over the edge of the giant cracks in the streets. And there was an enormous red eye hovering in the sky like an immobile moon. But what was quite possibly the most disturbing fact of all was the people… they were stone. Almost everyone on earth had been turned to stone in an instant. The rocky remains of humanity were everywhere; panicked rock faces filled the streets. These were the expressions of the people when it was happening. When civilization was collapsing, when humanities time had come to an end. But still, some remained.

A very small group of survivors was left, protected by a special magic when the end had come. There had been nearly twenty, but now just over a dozen remained, the others having been captured and eliminated by the Destroyer of Humanity. Still the remaining survivors had hope. All they needed was a little time… or, rather, a little sand of time.

A survivor slipped silently through the streets of the city, hiding in the shadows so as to not be spotted by the eye in the clouds. Strapped to his belt was a cloth pouch containing what little he had been able to retrieve of the Sands of Time. In a previous battle the hourglass had been destroyed, and the sand had been collected by their enemies. He had managed to obtain some, though not as planned, winning it in a Xiaolin Showdown rather than stealing it without incident. But there were a few problems. First, he was now being chased by his enemy. The Destroyer, as the survivors referred to him, wished for all of humanity to be exterminated so that his demonic people could take the Earth. So, he sent out his five minions to hunt for any survivors. Second, using the sand was now a one way trip. When the hourglass shattered, the sand became unstable. So now, when the sand was used, it could not be reused. The small handful that he had managed to win was just enough to get him to when he wanted to be, but wasn't enough for the return trip.

"Riku… where are you Riku?" called his pursuer.

Riku sank back into the shadows as far as he possibly could. His clothes were soaked and his long, shaggy, dark brown hair was matted down against the lightly bronzed skin of his face. The sleeves of the black Xiaolin robe he wore had been torn off during the showdown and he had a painful cut running down his right cheek. He remained completely silent and still as his pursuer passed by, despite his blood boiling at the sight of him. The man who was chasing him had once been his father, but was now just his father's body possessed by some demon. He still looked human, but his eyes glowed blood red, two massive bat wings protruded from his back, a tail with a poisonous barb at the end stuck through a hole in the back of his pants, and his forehead was the Destroyer's insignia: The Seal of Thanatos. The outline of a diamond with the top corner cut off and a dot in the middle, two lines jutting off from the top two sides. It glowed red on Dark Rai's forehead.

"Come on out, Riku." Dark Rai called again. "You may as well get it over with. It's only a matter of time before my master eliminates the rest of your pitiful group… and then the demons can have what is rightfully theirs."

"They'll have to go through my cold, rotting corpse." Riku muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, the eye hovering over the city turned its attention directly to Riku, sending a red beam of light over him. Dark Rai didn't have to follow the light to find where the boy was. "That can be arranged, my son." He growled with a sinister laugh.

"You, are not my father!" Riku shouted as he excited the shadows.

"Oh, really?"

Suddenly flames burst from the ground at Dark Rai's side and a woman appeared within them. She too looked human with the exception of red eyes, bat wings, a barbed tail sticking out from under her skirt, and the Destroyer's insignia on her forehead. "But is his not the seed which allowed me to spawn you and your sister?" questioned Dark Kim.

"And you're not my mother." Riku growled.

"Such an unruly child." Dark Kim said as she wrapped one arm around Dark Rai's waist, placing the hand of her other arm on his chest. "What do you think a fitting punishment would be, dear?"

Dark Rai grinned. "An eternity as a statue." He growled.

Dark Kim licked her lips with a forked, lizard like tongue rather than a normal one. "A delectable idea." She agreed.

The two demons started to approach the boy slowly, their red eyes glowing brighter and brighter as they came closer. There was no escape now. Riku would have to fight… unless…

Riku took the only way out he had. He grabbed the pouch on his belt and reached inside, clutching the handful of magical sand. "Sands of time!" he shouted.

And in a flash of light, he was gone.

"Oh, darn." Dark Kim said. "I was so looking forward to turning him into stone."

"Fret not, darling." Dark Rai reassured her. "There are still twelve more to find. And if all else fails we can use the sands to track him through time."

Dark Kim nodded and grinned sinisterly. "Our master's will shall be done."

~THE PRESENT~

The sunlight radiated over the mountain, warming the forest and roads leading up to the temple grounds. The sounds of birds, animals, and insects filled the mountain trail. It was a calm and peaceful moment. A giant panda sat in a tree on the side of the road, contently munching on some bamboo. Nothing could've ruined this picture… until two blurs came racing down the road at near sonic speed, jumping from tree to tree with enough force to knock the panda from its perch. When it hit the ground, it sat up and glanced around before going back to eating its bamboo as if nothing has happened.

"Get back here, Rai!" Kimiko shouted as she chased after her boyfriend.

"You'll have to catch me, Kim!" Rai called back to her.

The Japanese girl chased the Brazilian boy down the mountain trial, eventually branching off into the forest. Here the speed of the chase was less as they had to maneuver through the densely packed trees and bamboo. At one point Rai got creative and started swinging from vines. Kim tried not to laugh as she pursued him. Eventually Rai decided to make things interesting and grabbed onto a high branch, swinging upward and launching himself into the air, using the power of his Dragon Element to take flight. Kim growled and began focusing her Fire Element into the soles of her feet. Flames burst from her shoes and she took off like a rocket, following Rai into the air. They flew back to the trail at super sonic speeds, getting low to the ground as Kim slowly got closer to her target. Eventually Kim was able to grab onto the hem of Rai's shirt, causing Rai to lose his concentration. They hit the ground and rolled on top of each other for almost a mile until they finally stopped within the temple walls, Kim pinning Rai to the ground. "All right. I win." She growled with a smirk. "Now hand over my PDA or I'll have to punish you."

"Oh please, punish me." Rai grinned back. Kim rolled her eyes and leaned down to kiss him. They kissed lying on the ground for over five minutes, much longer than the time it took for Kim to reach into Rai's pocket and retrieve her stolen PDA.

"Excuse me. Sacred ground here."

Kim and Rai broke apart, looking up to find Omi and Saya glaring down at them. "I know you two are addicted to each other, but other people are here and I, for one, would prefer not to lose my lunch."

"What my dwarf of a little brother means to say is… no, I actually can't put it into better words." Saya said. "Keep **that** to yourselves."

"Oh please." Kim said as she and Rai got to their feet. "You two will be all over Clay and Mimi when they show up."

"The difference being that we haven't seen Clay and Mimi for months." Omi explained. "You two practically live together."

"So I've pretty much moved into my dad's condo in Rio, big deal." Kim said.

"And I just happen to sleep there every day that her dad is on business in Tokyo." Rai added. "… Which just so happens to be three weeks out of every month, I might add." He high-fived Omi.

"Yes, yes, your sex lives are no secret." Dojo said as he joined the conversation, hopping up onto Saya's shoulder. "You could at least not boast about it in front of people who aren't getting any."

"Speak for yourself." Saya said to the dragon, her thoughts drifting off to the last time she'd seen Clay.

"Okay, this is getting awkward." Omi said. Everyone agreed.

They wandered around the temple grounds and talked for a while. It had been a year since they and the rest of their friends had defeated Pride and the Seven Deadly Sins, and so far everything was still at peace. Wuya, Chase, and Hannibal had yet to show their faces since then. The temple was now under reconstruction, Omi and Saya using money that Master Fung had left them in his will (which somehow survived the temples destruction) to hire a construction crew. The main building was now done, and everything else was well under way. It would only be a few more months before everything looked brand new again.

"So…" Kim said to Rai as they walked behind Omi and Saya. "Got a good explanation for why you stole my PDA?"

Rai shrugged. "I was bored. Thought it would be fun."

Kim glared at him with her hands on her hips, giving Rai that feeling in the pit of his stomach which meant he was in trouble. But then Kim smiled and laughed. "Yeah, it was fun, wasn't it?" they went to hug each other, but Kim backed off when she heard footsteps coming towards them.

"Tackle!"

The next thing he knew, Rai was lying on his stomach with two hundred and forty pounds of Texan on top of him. "Rai, buddy! It's been **way** too long!"

"Crushing… can't breath!" Rai choked.

Clay laughed and got up, walking over to Saya and wrapping his arm around her shoulders just as Mimi walked up to the group. She and Omi greeted each other with a kiss at the same time that Clay and Saya did. "So, where's my spontaneous and humorous greeting?" Saya asked the cowboy at her side.

"Don't worry, baby. I gotcha covered." Clay said, snapping his fingers. "Mimi?" Mimi nodded and pulled the Orb of Tornami out from behind her back, tossing it to Clay. "Thanks." He said, holding the orb over the blond girls head. "Orb of Tornami!" Water suddenly poured from the sphere, soaking Saya from head to toe.

"Clay!"

Saya stole the orb from Clay and blasted him with it. Clay proudly took the first blast full force, knowing he deserved it, but ran when Saya tried soaking him again. Saya proceeded to chase after him and the others laughed as they watched. When Saya managed to trap Clay in a corner, Mimi decided to divert everyone's attention away from them.

"So how's everyone doing?" she asked.

"Good." Omi answered. "Did you and Clay arrive together?"

"Yeah. Our planes arrived at the same time and we took the same bus to the village. Cooked up Clay's little scheme on the hike up here… Something flew passed us in the trees… going really fast… there was yelling…"

"Told you it was them." Rai said to Kim.

"That explains a lot." Mimi chuckled.

Clay and Saya rejoined them a few minutes later, both soaking wet. Mimi, having foreseen this, handed them a couple towels. The six of them continued standing around and talking for a few minutes until they noticed the two girls missing from their party walking onto the temple grounds. Julia and Elena waved as they walked towards their friends, their fingers laced together. "What's going on, guys?" Elena asked. "And why are Clay and Saya's clothes soaking wet?" The two blonds were about to explain, but Elena cut them off. "On second thought, I don't want to know."

"Okay, now that everyone is here…" Omi said. "… Let the festivities commence!"

"Not everyone's here." Saya corrected him.

"What?"

"You're forgetting about Jack and Nina." Mimi explained.

"But they're evil."

"Formerly evil." Mimi said. "Me and Nina have been exchanging emails for the past year and she say's that Jack's really turned over a new leaf since she moved in with him. Say's he wants to get a contract with the military for the design for his robots and that he's trying to patents his robotic limb technology."

"Doesn't sound like the Jack Spicer I remember." Rai joked. "What happened to the incompetent buffoon we all used to know and loath?"

"He got a girlfriend, lost two limbs, and came to terms with old ghosts."

Rai jumped at the sound of Jack's voice behind him, having not noticed him there. "Dude, do not sneak up on me like that." He growled.

Jack just laughed and reached into the pocket of his trench coat, pulling out what looked like a cell phone. "Teleportation. It's gonna be the wave of the future… unfortunately, you can't go more than five feet without screwing up your molecular structure as of yet."

"Cool!" everyone said in unison.

"Showing off your latest toy, Jack?" Nina asked as she walked up to the group.

"You know it."

"Now that everyone's here…" Dojo said as he jumped on top of Clay's hat. "… I say we do what we came here to do and then we **GET THIS PARTY STARTED!**"

Everyone agreed and they headed to the only part of the temple that wasn't (or wasn't going to be) exactly like it used to be: a section of the courtyard that they'd fenced off where they placed the gravestones of their fallen friends. This is where Jet, Jess, Chief, Charity, Master Fung, Dashi, Raven and Rush had all been laid to rest. They stood silently among the graves, not needing words to honor the memories of their fallen friends.

They hadn't been there long before Omi noticed something in the trees behind the graves. "Look." He said, pointing in that direction. Everyone else looked away from the graves to find Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, and Wuya silently staring at the graves, just as they had been. When Chased saw that they had been noticed, he and Hannibal disappeared into the shadows, but Wuya remained behind. She stepped over the fence and walked over to Dashi's grave, kneeling down next to it. She ran her hand over the top of the grave stone as a single tear rolled down her cheek… and then she disappeared in a burst of green flames.

"Guess we're not the only ones with some regrets." Jack said. Nina only nodded.

They spent a few more minutes silently standing amongst the graves before Clay's stomach growled, telling all of them it was time to eat. They went to go light the grill and get their party started, but just as they turned their backs there was a bright flash of light behind them, followed by a pulse of energy that knocked most of them off their feet. The waited until the light had faded to stand up and look back. There, in the trees where Chase, Hannibal, and Wuya had been, stood a boy around their age. His dark brown hair was long and shaggy and his skin was light brown. He wore clothes similar to their Xiaolin robes, except black and with the sleeves ripped off.

It took Kimiko a minute to recognize him. "Riku!"

* * *

(a/n) okay, so Ive covered all the essentials. post apocalyptic future, check. time travel, check. an ominous and as of yet faceless and nameless main antagonist, check. now a few things before I go. first, just to get back to this stories roots, Im going to try to make Xiaolin Showdowns more prominant in this story that in Seven Sins or Begun By Blood. second, this is technically going to be two stories in one, taking place in the future and the present. originally it was just going to take place in the future so it would focus on Riku, Bonny, and the other children of the original monks, but then I decided to give the cannon characters (and my OCs) more screen time. and finally, I will be posting the first chapter of this (not counting the prologue, consider this a christmas (or whatever holiday you might celebrate this time of year) preasent) on January 11, 2010. exactly one year after I finished Begun By Blood.

And so, with nothing else to say, in the words of the great Peter Griffin, "Merry Christmas to all and to all shut the hell up." lol.


	2. The Present: Of the Future

(a/n) low and behold, exactly one year after the end of Begun By Blood, the first chapter of A Tale of Two Times is here!... okay, so its a day early. whatever. I just got it done and didnt feel like waiting until midnight to post it.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Present: Of the Future

Riku collapsed onto one knee, groaning and wrapping his arms around his rib cage. Kim and Julia both ran up to him and helped him to his feet. The others watched in shock and confusion as the two girls helped him walk and followed them into the temple where they laid Riku down in the bed chambers. "Riku? Riku, are you all right?" Kim asked, kneeling down next to him.

Riku groaned and opened his eyes enough to see what was going on. He looked directly at Kim. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

Kim was taken aback by this. How could he not remember her? It's not everyday that someone meets the teenage version of their own mother. Julia understood, however. "Kim, the Sins are gone." Julia explained. "The future that the Riku we met can't exist anymore. This Riku must be from the timeline we're on right now."

"Can everyone… stop crowding me, please?" Riku asked as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. He took a good look at the ten people standing around him, nodding to himself as if confirming something he was thinking. "Well, I'm definitely in the right place." He said.

It was then Rai came to a realization and his eyes widened and his jaw hung open. "Kim, am I looking at what I think I'm looking at?" he asked.

"Well, that depends." Riku said as he pushed himself to his feet and brushed off his shirt with his hands. "If you think you're looking at a giant alien squid, then no, that's not what you're looking at. If you think you're looking at your teenage son from the future, then yes."

Rai just stood there in a trance with his jaw open. Omi waved a hand in front of his face, getting no response. "Yeah, he's gone." Omi said.

Riku just shrugged. "Okay, two things. First, I hope you guys are excited, because you get to save the world yet again!"

Everyone groaned. "Oh, come one!" Jack complained. "We've gone through a trilogy already. I mean, come on! We've already taken down an all powerful psychopath with a god complex who I wouldn't doubt was actually some sort of god! How in the world could they top that?"

"You'll see." Riku said.

Jack groaned, rubbing his hand over his face.

"So… what's the second thing?" Mimi asked.

"I haven't eaten in days… well, I guess technically it would be negative twenty something years, but that's beside the point. The point is I need a cheeseburger… or ramen noodles or something. I don't really care so long as it's edible."

~ELSEWHERE~

"I've found it… the first key…"

The voice rang out through the dark abyss, nothing but dark clouds visible in all directions… except for one floating island of land, nothing more than a chunk of rock with a flat surface floating in the abyss. Two figures appeared upon the floating island. This first was a woman; tall, slender, and curvy with long blond hair that floated as if underwater, caused simply be her own power. She was clad in a long purple skirt with a golden hem, slit along one side to expose one leg, and what looked like a purple poncho with a golden dragon design, which hung off of one shoulder, exposing some of the opposite arm and some cleavage. Her eyes were hidden behind a blindfold. The second figure was a young man; tall and muscular with a pair of black angel wings on his back. Clad in nothing more than a pair of tattered trousers. His hair was short and raven black, and his skin was pale as a ghost. The irises of his eyes where white as well and his pupils were like those of a cat. He carried a long scimitar in on hand with an onyx black blade and etchings in the blade which glowed neon green.

The two circled each other, the man never taking his eyes off the woman and she seemed to do the same, though if she was the blindfold hid it. "So where is it? And which one?" the man asked.

"Oh, but that would be too easy, handsome." The woman snickered. "You have yet to prove yourself to me and I have many ready minions at my disposal."

The man spread his wings out menacingly and pointed his sword at the woman. "I grow tired of your games, Lilith. I agreed to work for you, but only to claim what is rightfully mine. To do that, I need what is behind the gate, and we need the keys to open it. What you seek to gain beyond that gate I do not know and couldn't care less. Now, if you know the location of a key, tell me and I will find it…" he lowered the scimitar to his side and grinned. "Or don't tell me and I will find it anyway. But you… you will never see what is beyond the gate."

"You know not your place." Lilith responded. "I could crush you like that insect from which you spawned…" a dark aura appeared around her clenched fists, but quickly disappeared as she relaxed her hands. "Your search will take you to the city of London, on the isle of Britain." She said. The man nodded and turned to walk away. "Do not… fail me." She said just before he disappeared in a burst of black and purple flames. "… Dark Rai."

~THE TEMPLE~

Rai, Kim, Omi, Mimi, Clay, Saya, Julia, Elena, Jack, and Nina all watched in awe as Riku wolfed down sandwich after bowl of soup after hotdog after sandwich and so on. He hadn't been kidding when he said he hadn't eaten in days. "He's eating more than you, Clay." Saya whispered to her boyfriend. It was all he could do to nod.

Finally, once he had cleared the entire table and nearly the whole fridge, Riku leaned back, sighed, and patted his belly. "I can't tell you how much I needed that. It has been forever since I've had a good sandwich."

They all nodded. "So… you're here to warn us about some horrible future, right?" Rai asked.

"Yeah." Riku agreed. He sighed and turned his face away from them, looking out the window. "I wish I could say I have nightmares… but, honestly, I'd welcome nightmares compared to the hell I live in… fifteen years from now, when I'm only five years old, demons overrun the earth and obliterate most living creatures… especially humans. I'm from a very small group of survivors, just over a dozen counting myself. The others are my sister, Bonny, the rest of all of your kids, and you five." He said, indicating Julia, Elena, Mimi, Nina, and Jack. He then turned to Rai, Kim, Omi, Clay, and Saya. "You five were with us at fist but… you… you sacrificed yourselves so the rest of us could be safe."

"What about me?" Dojo asked.

"Dojo, you… I'm sorry but, I can't tell you." He said.

"Why not?"

"I'm sorry, but even in this situation there are certain things you shouldn't know about your future." He said. "I've probably said too much already, but if you can change the future it won't matter much… Anyway, I stole some of the Sands of Time and used it to come back here. That's basically the whole story."

"What do you mean _some_ of the Sands of Time?" Elena questioned.

"The hourglass was destroyed not long ago. Now the demons have the sand stored in one of their temples… the worst part is that now the sand is unstable and becomes useless after being used once."

"In other words, you're stuck here." Nina said. Riku nodded.

"Okay so what do we have to do to stop this horrible future?" Omi questioned.

"You have to find and destroy all three keys." Riku explained. "They're the original Shen Gong Wu that Grand Master Dashi used to seal the Destroyer behind an inter-dimensional gate fifteen hundred years ago."

"The Destroyer?" Julia asked.

"The Grand Demon. The Hell Bringer… Sarah thinks he's actually Satan himself, and I honestly wouldn't doubt it… Sarah's your daughter, by the way, Clay and Saya."

"Come back to the past to save the future, why do I feel like I'm in a Terminator movie?" Rai asked.

~CHASE YOUNGS DOMAIN~

Chase's eyes snapped open. "She's back." He growled.

He got up from his meditative position and summoned two of his feline minions, two black panthers. "Summon Hannibal and Wuya." He ordered. "We have much to discuss." The panthers nodded, purring, and ran off as Chase walked down the marble stair case. Chase came to a stop in front of a stone wall, just next to the entrance of his domain. He raised one arm up, the back of his hand facing the wall, and clenched his fist. Then, he quickly and forcefully brought it down to his side. A section of the wall, the size of a doorway, lowered into the floor, allowing Chase to enter the small chamber inside.

It was dark inside. The jagged stone walls formed a dome, the highest point just a couple feet above Chases head. Inside there was a triangular table with three chairs and three candles burning and slowly melting in the center. He sat down in the chair nearest to the door as it slowly rose back up, sealing him inside. No sooner had the door closed than Wuya appeared in a burst of green flames, followed swiftly by Hannibal appearing through a portal to the Ying-Yang world in his armor. "You called?" Wuya questioned, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair.

"This had better be good, Chase." Hannibal growled. "I was in the middle of planning my vengeance."

"Your petty vengeance will have to be put on hold, Hannibal. We have much bigger problems than the monks at the moment." Chase said. He waved his hand over the three candles on the table and the burning wicks burst into one massive flame. The Seal of Thanatos could be seen burning within. "She's back… and she's on the move."

"Lilith has come back?" Wuya demanded.

"I was wondering when she would show her face." Hannibal chuckled. "She must have stayed in hiding after she and Pride were released from their prison… she was the more clever sibling… but then again you know that first hand, don't you, Wuya?"

"My past is none of your concern, Bean." Wuya snarled. "Especially concerning her."

"Quit your squabbling." Chase said. "The past is the past. My concern is out status in the future if she is allowed to roam freely."

"Well how do you expect us to stop her?" Wuya asked. "She's just as powerful and twice as cunning as Pride was. And Chief, the only person on earth that knew how to imprison her, is dead."

"That's right." Hannibal agreed. "And even if we're able to muck up her plans she'll just attempt to destroy the world as Pride had."

"Which we prevented." Chase reminded him.

"Barely." Wuya added.

Chase glared at her. "Then what do you suggest we do, dear Wuya?" he questioned.

"Drive a spike through the black hole she calls a heart!" Wuya growled, slamming her fists on the table.

"She's immortal." Hannibal said.

"But not eternal." Wuya retorted. "Pride was presumed invincible, and now he is dead. He was Lilith's brother, so she must be able to be killed as well."

"You forget, before Pride's death he overthrew the world, destroyed it, and it was only revived after his death. Surely Lilith will put up more of a fight." Chase said.

Wuya glared back at Chase. "All I know is that, while she may seem unstoppable, she isn't, just as her brother wasn't. We can destroy her, and then we can go back to our bickering and plotting to eliminate the monks and plunge the world into ten thousand years of darkness… as the universe intended."

"That, witch, depends on the universe." Hannibal said, chuckling darkly. The suit of armor then stood and a portal to the Ying-Yang world appeared behind him. "I believe we're through here." He said before stepping through the portal.

"Agreed." Wuya said. "… She will die." She snarled before disappearing in a burst of green flames.

Chase sat there silently for a moment longer, thinking over their options. Finally, he stood and opened the entrance to the chamber. "Perhaps it's time I checked in on my part of Dashi's request… but I'm going to need some backup."

~LONDON~

Stars and a bright full moon filled the dark London sky. Ino loved nights like this. Normally the lights from the city were more than enough to block the starlight from view, and if it didn't clouds or fog usually did the job, considering the city. But not tonight. The night sky was flawless; almost like it were a painting.

Ino was an average teenage girl. Born in Tokyo but raised in London, she had a very Asian appearance with long, jet black hair and narrow eyes. But there was something peculiar about her appearance. Her pupils were long and narrow, like a cat's, and were a peculiar golden yellow color. She suspected that, because her mother, Rukia, didn't have the same eyes, she got them from her father who she'd never met. The only other thing that Ino had of her father was a large copper key that now hung on her wall, one that, as far as she knew, belonged in a museum. It was a classic key with teeth, the handle end being crafted decoratively into the shake of a skull wearing the helmet of a Spartan soldier. The way her mother spoke of it, it was made by an ancient Chinese hero. Her father, or so her mother told her, had been from China and had given Ino the key the day she was born before disappearing a few weeks later.

It was strange. She knew that she should hate her father for running out on his family, but she didn't. She guessed that, since her mother had never shown any hostility when speaking of him, Ino had never learned to hate him. She was disappointed in what he did, yes, but she'd never hated him for it. She looked over to the ancient key on her wall and found herself imagining her father finding them one day and being welcomed back into the family with open arms. "Keep dreaming, Ino." She sighed, shaking her head.

She glanced away from the key when she noticed the light of the moon vanishing behind a cloud. The stars were disappearing too. "Odd. The sky was flawless a moment ago." It was then that she saw something strange out of the corner of her eye. She turned back to find her father's key pulsating with an eerie dark glow. Horrified and awestruck all at the same time, she found herself only able to do one thing. "MUM!" she shouted.

~THE NEXT DAY, THE TEMPLE~

Dojo yawned as he slithered into the temple kitchen. The sun was just rising above the horizon and everyone else was still sleeping, excluding Riku who was standing outside watching the sun rise. Dojo poured himself a cup of coffee and then slithered outside, hopping up onto Riku's shoulder. "Early riser, kid?" Dojo asked.

"Strictly out of habit." Riku said. "Kind of pays to stay up late and wake up early when you live in a post apocalyptic world… hell, I think this is the most sleep I've gotten in years."

"So what's it like?" Dojo asked. "Living in your time, fighting for survival every day."

Riku sighed. "It sucks just as much as you think it would." He said. He looked up to the sunrise and sighed again. "It's beautiful. Last time I saw a sunrise like this was a decade ago… or rather fifteen years from now, but whatever… I was only five years old when the gate opened and the demons came. I remember not being able to understand what was happening. I remember crying with my sister, Bonny, that day… Me and Bonny and the other kids all watched in horror behind Mimi, Julia, Elena, Nina, and Jack as Mom, Dad, Clay and Saya fought to defend us. Then Clay used the Ying-Yang Yoyo to transport us to the Ying-Yang world… and we were safe… sort of… ten long years we've spent hiding in the Ying-Yang world, only going back to the real world when absolutely necessary for food and water… and this." He clutched the small bag tied to his belt which contained the now useless Sands of Time. "It's horrible."

"You forgot Omi."

"What?"

"You forgot to mention Omi when you were talking about the day the demons came." Dojo said. He took the first sip of his coffee and sighed before continuing. "Ah… that's good coffee. Anyway, if I didn't know any better I'd say…" He stopped talking as his eyes widened and he dropped his coffee mug, letting it shatter on the ground. "Oh crap…" he murmured before turning to Riku. "Gather everyone in the meditation hall now!"

"Why? What's going on?" Riku asked as he ran back to the temple with Dojo still on his shoulder.

"It's revealed itself… the Key of Hades."

Riku furrowed his brow and quickened his running. "Damn… it's starting."

Less than five minutes later all of the other ten of the temples current residents were sitting in the meditation hall, albeit yawning and half asleep (and in the cases of Clay and Rai, completely asleep). "Everyone, a new and extremely powerful Shen Gong Wu has just revealed itself!" Dojo announced.

"And me and Nina are he because?..." Jack questioned.

"Because you're good guys now." Dojo explained.

"That's debatable." Jack retorted.

"Anyway…" Riku said. "I'm afraid that the emergence of this Shen Gong Wu is a pivotal point in the future I came here to warn you about."

Dojo unrolled the scroll of the Shen Gong Wu. On the scroll was a picture of a key with a skull wearing a Spartan Helmet on the handle. "They Key of Hades." Riku explained. "One of the three keys that Dashi used to seal the gate which blocks the Destroyer from entering this world. It doubles as being able to steal away the spirits of the living, trapping them inside the key."

"Okay, so where do we find it?" Mimi asked.

"That's the problem." Dojo said. "Dashi took extreme precautions with these Shen Gong Wu. I can't sense them, considering that if my annual craving for Shen Gong Wu pops up and I happen to get these three keys… the world would pretty much be screwed over."

"So how do we find it, then?" Omi questioned.

"Dashi left the Keys with three different protectors." Dojo said. "Guan was given one and Dashi kept another… but this specific one was given to Chase Young."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Kim groaned.

"Afraid not." Dojo said.

"And I won't be giving it up so easily."

Everyone stood at the sound of Chases voice, turning around and readying themselves for a fight. Clay and Rai, who had been sleeping and leaning against Kim and Saya, both fell onto their faces when their girlfriends had moved, causing them to wake and stand in confusion, also ready for a fight but facing the wrong way. Chase raised both hands into the air as if to show he meant no harm. The Teenagers backed down before Chase continued speaking. "For the most part, because the key is no longer within my possession." He explained.

"Well where is it then?" Riku questioned, walking right up to Chase and glaring at him. "I need that damn key and I swear if you don't tell me where it is I'll beat it out of you."

Chase chuckled and placed his hand on Riku's shoulder. "You have spunk, young Pedrosa." He said. "Perhaps, if we didn't have a bigger problem, I would target you as my next apprentice."

"Where… is… **the… KEY?**" Riku demanded.

Chase nodded. "We're heading for London."

Without another word everyone headed outside. Dojo grew to his flying size and Jack summoned his jet which came flying over the tree line in less than five seconds. Jack and Nina boarded the jet while Rai, Kim, Clay, Saya, Omi, Mimi, Julia, and Elena climbed onto Dojo's back. Riku was going to join his future parents on Dojo, but Chase held him back. "We'll catch up." He said. "I'm sure Dojo can only carry so much."

Dojo snorted, jets of fire escaping his nostrils before he took off. "Dojo! What about Riku?" Kim demanded.

"Something tells me he won't be joining us." Dojo said as he flew into the sky, Jack's jet following close behind.

Back on the ground, Chase and Riku waited in silence for the others to disappear into the clouds. "So what's going on, Chase?" Riku questioned. "You gunna kill me or something?"

Chase just ignored him and started walking away. "You have your own time to worry about. Let us worry about this one." He said. Chase disappeared into the darkness of the bamboo forest surrounding the temple. Riku went to chase after him, but he wasn't given a chance.

"Sands of Time!"

"What the…" but before he could finish speaking, a bright flash of light engulfed Riku's body. When it faded, he was gone.

"_Perfect…_"

The temple now deserted, Lilith made her move. She appeared in the temple courtyard out of nothing, as if materializing through the wind. She held a set of garbs in her hands, black as coal with a sash, a mask with no eye holes, and two katana swords resting on top. Lilith slowly made her way to the graveyard and set the clothes down on the ground in front of Rush's head stone. She spoke one word. "Arise…"

The clothes began rising into the air and unfolded, the sash tying itself around the waist of the shirt and pants, the mask setting on top of the shirts shoulders, and the katanas hooking their sheaths into straps on the shirts back. Tied to the sash were multiple pouches in which shuriken and kunai were stored. A traditional Ninja garb. Finally, the clothes inflated as if a body had appeared within, fitting perfectly to the muscular body of a young man. Two glowing red eyes appeared on the mask as the ninja suit lowered to the ground, landing on its feet.

"In gratitude for releasing me from my prison, I have returned you to life." Lilith said. "I just ask one thing of you… serve me, Rush."

"As you command, Mistress."

* * *

(a/n) I'm going to be very disapointed if no one catches onto who my new Ino character is. seriously, I made it more obvious than I did Julia's sexuality (which wasnt obvious, but I did give major hints to that). but whatever. if you didnt figure it out, youll have to wait two more chapters to find out, because the next chapter will be taking place completely in Riku's future! hence the title, "A tale of **TWO** Times."


	3. The Future: Of the Present

(a/n) sorry this chapter took so long. dont really have a legitimate excuse other than other projects and homework. also sorry for the shortness, but I couldnt think of anything else to add. still, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Future: Of the Present

Riku fell to the ground as the time portal closed, the bright flash having temporarily blinded him since it had caught him by surprise. Apparently his sight hadn't been the only sense that had been affected, as he could hear voices but couldn't make out words. As his vision began to return he felt himself lifted to his feet and an obscure figure entered his field of vision. As that first figure became clearer he soon recognized it as his sister, Bonny, and other blurred images began appearing behind her. Riku and Bonny, being twins, looked very similar; having inherited their fathers bronzed skin and their mothers' dark hair. However, while Riku looked to be a near perfect copy of his dad Bonny was a more even mixture of their parents. "The hell…" Riku said.

"It speaks!" Riku heard two young voices say in unison. Clearly, wherever they were, Peter and Hunter were there as well. The two youngsters were prone to making jokes, especially when together. Despite their troublesome ways the two munchkins had come in handy on more than one occasion, almost excusing their constantly coming along uninvited on missions to earth. There was almost no trace of Omi within him, looking like a young, male version of his mother with auburn hair and pale skin. Practically the only hint that Omi was his father was that he was nearly a foot shorter than his cousin. The other ten year old had the golden blond hair from both his parents, Clay and Saya, and was a bit tall for as young as he was. He'd also inherited his fathers' appetite as well as his mothers' cunning.

"You two shut up. You're not even supposed to be here." Riku heard Logan, Peters older brother scold. "I hope you know how pissed Mom is going to be when we get back, Pete." Logan was sort of the lone wolf of the group. He tended to be in a bad or at least unpleasant mood most of the time and only spoke when he needed to. Logan looked a lot more like his father than Peter did. His skin tone was similar to his fathers, though deluded thanks to Mimi's genes, and he shaved his head in memory of Omi. However, Logan was much taller than Omi had ever hoped to be, towering over everyone else in the group at nearly six and a half feet.

By now Riku could see and hear clearly, though someone still had to help him stand. Bonny was standing in front of him with Peter and Hunter just behind her. Riku couldn't see Logan, but figured that it was him holding onto his arms, keeping him steady. From what Riku could tell, they were on earth rather than the Yin-Yang World. They were surrounded by dead and charred trees, and the ground was nothing but rocks and dry dirt.

Home sweet home.

"Riku, you okay Bro?" Bonny asked.

"You brought me back?" Riku questioned.

"Of course we brought you back! Why wouldn't we bring you back? You should consider yourself lucky we were able to track you through time to find you!" Bonny retorted.

Riku groaned. "You idiots." He grumbled, shaking Logan's hands from his arms. "I went back to prevent all this from happening! I could have stopped the gate from opening, prevented the Destroyer from taking over, saved Mom and Dad!" He yelled before punching a nearby tree, watching it crumble to dust after being hit. "Well at least I got the ball rolling." He growled.

Suddenly Riku felt a sharp pain in his cheek as Bonny smacked her open hand across his face. "You ungrateful little bastard." She breathed. "Did you think, even for a second, that the Destroyer's minions would have found you if we hadn't. I don't care what you were trying to do. We saved your life god damn it! And I would join those demon freaks before I would let them get you. Now you are going to thank us for saving your ass and then we are going to go home, is that clear Riku Pedrosa?"

Riku was a bit shocked, not that his sister had slapped him or by her outburst, but by how much she had reminded him of their mother just then. One of the clearest memories of their parents Riku had was of Kimiko snapping at Rai in a very similar way for something he couldn't remember. Riku sighed. "Thank you, sis." He said, pulling his sister into a hug. Bonny was surprised by this at first but smiled and hugged him back. "You too Logan, Pete, Hunter." He said after breaking away from Bonny.

"You don't need to thank us." Peter said.

"But we will be calling in a favor later." Hunter said, grinning mischievously.

"Funny."

"All right. Let's get back to the Yin-Yang World before we're discovered." Logan suggested, pulling the black and white Yin-Yang Yo-Yo from his pocket. "'Cause I did not risk my neck to save you just to see you, along with the rest of us, captured… Yin-Yang Yo-Yo!"

~YIN-YANG WORLD~

"I am going to kill those two."

"And reduce the human population down to eleven? I don't think so."

"I've got to agree with Julia on this one, Mimi. And besides, despite the trouble they cause Hunter and Peter can be quite resourceful when they need to be."

"Jack, if you want to keep the two limbs you still have I suggest you shut up." Mimi growled.

Jack, Mimi, Julia, Elena, and Nina were all sitting around a small room in the Yin-Yang World waiting for Bonny and Logan, as well as Peter and Hunter to their surprise, to return with Riku. Sarah, Hikari, and Riley were elsewhere, waiting for the same thing but trying to distract themselves instead of worrying. The adults of the group hated that they had to send their children out on these missions, but they literally had no other option. Because of their reputation as world savers before the Destroyer arrived they were branded by his magic and the second they set foot into the Yin-Yang World they were doomed to remain there until their deaths. Thus, Riku, Bonny, Sarah, Hikari, Hunter, Logan, Peter, and Riley had to go back to the earth whenever something needed done.

"You know, I bet that if Rai and the others were still around they would be ashamed of us." Elena said.

"What do you mean?" Nina asked.

"You know how stubborn and adamant they were. It's been ten years… by now they would've found a way out of here and went back to fighting the Destroyer or have died trying… We gave up the second we realized that we couldn't use the Yin-Yang Yo-Yo to go back and now we're risking out children's lives." Elena slumped over as she spoke, running a hand through her hair. Julia leaned over and wrapped her arms around her wife, trying to comfort her.

"You know, you're right, Elena." Mimi agreed.

"She may be right but we really can't do anything about it." Jack pointed out. "The only other way to get back to Earth I can think of is the Yin-Yang Bird and no one has seen that thing in over a decade."

"I wish Dojo were here." Julia sighed as she lovingly rubbed Elena's arm. "He'd know what to do."

Nina was about to speak again, but a blue and purple vortex appeared in front of her before she could, causing her to jump in surprise and grab onto Jack's arm for comfort. It wasn't until Riku, Bonny, Logan, Peter, and Hunter stepped through the portal that she calmed. "Still not used to that."

Mimi immediately got up and hugged her two boys as the exited the portal and then, while keeping a firm grip on Peter, let go of Logan so she could grab Hunter and scold the two youngsters. Meanwhile Riku was welcomed back by the other four adults with hug after hug. In the ten years that they had been hiding out in the Yin-Yang World the thirteen of them had become a very close group, considering each other family but still maintaining the fact that they weren't all related. Riku and Bonny, as well as Sarah, Hikari, and Hunter, were particularly glad they had all grown so close considering that they had lost their parents. Mimi had become the most motherly of the adults and Jack had become a great father figure despite the fact that he and Nina had never had kids.

Sarah, Hikari, and Riley come running up to the group soon after Riku and the other had returned, having noticed the vortex appearing. "Riku you knuckle head!" Riley laughed as she caught Riku in a head lock and forcefully ran her knuckles over his scalp. "What the hell were you thinking, running off like that?" she questioned. Riley was the biggest tomboy of the four teenage girls. She enjoyed roughhousing with the other kids, especially with Riku, and always seemed optimistic, even in their current situation. It was clear to anyone that she was Julia and Elena's daughter, having inherited Julia's raven black hair while appearing to be a teenage clone of her other mother.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Riku gasped. Riley laughed again and released Riku.

"Too much?" Riley asked.

"Ya think?" Riku growled.

"But she has a point." Sarah, the oldest of the eight children, pointed out. Sarah seemed to be Saya's image reincarnated, looking exactly like her mother had as a teenager. However, she acted more like her father having a huge appetite, a calm disposition, a southern Texas accent, and tending to dress as a rancher. She was rarely seen without her dads old hat on. "What were ya thinkin'?"

"Something along the lines of saving the world." Riku grumbled as he tried to push his way out of the crowd now surrounding him but to no avail.

"More details please." Hikari insisted. The middle child of Clay and Saya, Hikari took after her parents a lot less than her brother and sister did, sort of being the black sheep of the family. She wasn't much of a fighter but was able to figure out solutions to the most complicated problems. The others often called her a genius, and Jack, the only confirmed genius of the group, honestly thought she could be smarter than him. Her hair was brunet, a trait likely taken from her grandfather.

Riku sighed, rubbing the back of his head. No escaping this onslaught. "Well, I went to get the Sands of Time like I was told…" He glared over to Jack briefly before turning back to the others. "I had to go into a Xiaolin Showdown with on of his minions to get what little I was able to obtain. I won but they chased after me when I escaped their temple. Eventually they cornered me and my only way out was to use the Sands… I had just enough to get where we'd planned." This peaked the interest of the adults around him. They had planned on using the Sands of Time to go back and prevent this all from happening as well. And while Riku clearly didn't succeed before he was brought back, it was clear that he'd gotten things started. "I… arrived in a grave yard…" He turned to Mimi, Jack, Nina, Julia, and Elena. "You guys were there… and so were Mom and Dad, Clay, Saya, and Omi… None of them were any older than us… Mom and Julia. They recognized me from some alternate timeline. They took me in, gave me a place to sleep and fed me…god I haven't eaten like that in years."

"Get to the point already! We don' wanna hear about ya livin' a life of luxury!" Sarah snapped.

Riku chuckled. "Sorry… anyway, I told them about what's happening in our world. How we're the last of humanity, how the demons are taking over… I didn't tell them everything, but enough to understand the situation… One of the keys revealed itself and we were going to go after it… Chase Young was there, claiming to want to help… but he stopped me from getting onto Dojo's back… and then you guys got me."

"I remember that day." Mimi said. "Its just like you described it, except you weren't there… Why don't I remember you being there if you were that?"

"I guess the multiverse theory is right." Hikari said. Everyone else, save for Jack, gave her blank, confused stares and she rolled her eyes. "If you change something in history the existence that stems from it isn't replaced by a new one. But when you change history a new branch in the time line is created, resulting from the changes created by that change in history, while leaving the other timeline still intact." She explained.

"Meaning?" Hunter and Peter questioned.

"No matter what we do this time line is still going to exist, even if we do everything we can to prevent it." Logan said.

"Not necessarily." Jack said. "If the multiverse theory is correct, while changing history doesn't automatically eliminate the unwanted timeline, you can potentially eliminate the unwanted timeline once the new one is set in place."

"So what you're saying is we have to change history and then find a way to destroy this reality?" Bonny questioned.

"That's pretty much the gist of it." Hikari confirmed.

There was an awkward silence. While getting rid of the Destroyer was what they all so desperately wanted, the idea that they themselves would no longer exist, in a sense, was way to unnerving to most of them. "Talk about a buzz kill." Riley grumbled.

~TEMPLE OF THE DESTROYER~

Lilith lay silently on her bed in her chambers which had once been the meditation hall of the Xiaolin Temple. She was not asleep, though sleep would be a welcome distraction from her fathers voice continuously ringing through her thoughts, demanding that she locate and eliminate the remaining humans so his plans could be completed. It had been over a decade and still she was kicking up dirt. Sure, they showed up every now and again to steal some of the Sands of Time or others of their precious Shen Gong Wu, but for the most part they remained hidden in their hide out, wherever it was. She groaned as she remembered that Dark Rai and Dark Kim had almost caught one, their son, a couple days earlier but he had slipped away through time. And Later more of them showed up to steal more of the Sands of Time, but they had gotten away easier than the other had.

She furrowed her brow under her blind fold. "Why must I do everything? Daddy is all but all powerful and yet he insists that I find the humans."

She sat up as she sensed someone entering her room. The doors had not opened and no sound had been made, but as she sat up she noticed her four minions in front of her door, all down on one knee, their opposite fist pressed against the ground and bowing their heads. Dark Rai, Dark Kim, Dark Clay, and Dark Saya. All looked relatively the same from their days as humans, but they now sported leathery demon wings, reptilian tails with barbs at the end, blood red eyes, and the Seal of Thanatos on their foreheads. "My Lady, your son approaches." Announced Dark Rai.

Lilith cocked her eyebrow with intrigue. Her son was coming to visit? This was a rare treat indeed. He was usually to busy with his constant walking around the world to visit her. He had literally been walking nonstop ever since the day the demons had taken the earth, only stopping when he had news of the humans' location. So far, he had only visited her once, nearly nine years ago, to inform her that wherever the humans were, they were either hidden by some magic or no longer on earth. Lilith swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood. "Open the doors. Let my boy enter."

All four nodded and Dark Kim and Dark Saya disappeared in a burst of black flames. Dark Rai and Dark Clay stood, grabbed onto the handles of her doors and pulled them open, revealing her son just behind them, Dark Kim and Dark Saya standing at his sides. He looked almost nothing like her, taking after his father so much more. But his father was out of the picture and had been for a long, long time.

Lilith's son showed his Asian heritage greatly, taking after his father, but his demonic side now showed greatly as well. He had tattoos that looked strangely like tentacles all over his body and the Seal of Thanatos gleamed on his forehead brightly. His head was bald and he could almost be considered a dwarf, but not quite. He wore no shoes and his feet were bloody and bruised. This was to be expected, considering that he'd been walking nonstop for nearly a decade. She didn't know why he punished himself in this way, but it was his choice. So long as he was doing his job she didn't care what else he did.

"Omi! My darling! Come give mother a hug!" Lilith said happily, kneeling down and opening her arms to him. Omi complied and walked toward her, keeping the same emotionless, almost lifeless expression he always had. They hugged quickly and pulled apart. Lilith then sat down on the edge of her bed, Omi standing before her. "So, what news do you have for me, dear?"

He looked up at her, straight into her covered eyes. "I've found them."

Lilith clapped her hands together, overjoyed to hear this news. "Oh, this is fantastic! You've done so well dear! Now take the Darklings and get rid of them. Once every last human is gone your Grandfathers plans will finally be complete."

"Yes, mother." Omi agreed, bowing before turning to walk out of the room.

"Oh, one more thing, Omi." Lilith called just as Omi stepped into the hallway. "If you see Rush out there…" she clenched her fist and it was suddenly engulfed by a blazing red and orange flame. "Tell him he's fired.


	4. The Present: The Key of Hades

Chapter 3: The Present: The Key of Hades

When Dojo landed in a back ally on the streets of London, Jack's plane landing nearby in stealth mode, no one was surprised to find that Chase had already arrived there. However, Riku wasn't with him, which worried Dojo's passengers. As Dojo shrank down from his flight form, Kim and Rai lead the others over to Chase to confront him. "Where's Riku, Chase?" Kim demanded.

"Unfortunately, I believe your future child will not be joining us." Chase said nonchalantly.

Chase gave no resistance as Rai and Clay moved forward and pinned him against a wall. "Listen, lizard breath." Rai growled. "You'd better tell us where he is before I rip your tongue out so you never get the chance."

"I assure you, I have nothing to do with his disappearance." Chase said.

"Why should we trust you, ya varmint?" Clay growled.

"Because if I were behind this you all would have vanished without a trace, don't you thing?" Chase stated flatly.

Rai and Clay glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing, and then let Chase go. "Yeah, I'll buy that." Rai said. "But if we find out you're lying then consider yourself as good as dead."

"Noted." Chase agreed as Jack and Nina arrived. "Now follow me. Our goal is not far."

~ELSEWHERE~

"There's no way that was a trick of the light, mum. There was no light!"

"Ino, you're being unreasonable." Her mother insisted. "Just listen to me. I think I know more about your fathers work than you do."

Ino and her mother had been arguing since late last night when the copper key in Ino's room had begun to glow with a dark light. Ino could tell that most of what she'd said so far was nothing but lies, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what she was trying to cover up. "Mum, I'm not a stupid little kid anymore." Ino said. "I can tell when you're not telling me something. Why don't you just give up and tell me what's up with that key?"

Rukia sighed. She hated when her daughter was this stubborn, especially when it came to topics concerning her father. "I'm not hiding anything from you." She lied. "Whatever you saw last night must have been a trick of the light… either that or you were hallucinating and need to see a doctor."

"I was not hallucinating."

"Then it was a trick of the light."

"You're a trick of the light."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't care."

There it was. Ino makes a bad joke and Rukia calls her on it. When this happened it usually mean that they were done fighting even if the issue wasn't resolved. The issue would come up again later, but it was dropped for now. A knock came at the door and Rukia got up to answer it. But as she opened the door she could barely stop herself from swearing when she saw who was on the other side. "Hello, dear Rukia." said Chase Young, ten teenagers and a small dragon standing behind him. "Is my daughter around?"

Ino snapped her attention to the door when she heard what he'd said.

~YIN-YANG WORLD~

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't… wouldn't ya say, Yingy?"

The Yin-Yang bird, sitting on the suit of armors shoulder, squawked in agreement as Hannibal, sitting inside the armors head, contemplated his next move. With Lilith becoming a more viable threat in his eyes, and already a very big threat to Chase and Wuya, he was considering forming yet another temporary alliance with the pesky monks for the greater good… or, rather, to save his own hide. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I suppose… but in this case the enemy of my enemy is more like a school of piranhas… constantly devouring anything that happens to fall into the rivers that are my plans… perhaps making an alliance with the other enemy would be worth my while. Yingy?"

The bird ruffled its feathers and shook its head.

"I suppose you're right." Hannibal agreed. "I may have no quarrel with this Lilith, but this world belongs to me and I suspect that making an alliance only to double cross her would be suicide." He sighed. "Again. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

"Perhaps not."

Hannibal turned his armor's head towards the direction of the voice, finding a man in a ninja suit with glowing read eyes standing not far off. "You have the stench of demon upon you." Hannibal said. "No doubt one of Lilith's flunkies… but theirs something familiar about you, stranger. Have we met in a past life?"

"The current for you, the past for me." He answered. "In my previous life I was one of the monks you despise so greatly. I went by the name of Rush."

"Yes, I remember you." Hannibal acknowledged. "You became the Sin of Envy but ultimately sacrificed yourself in an attempt to kill the Sin of Pride. Noble but foolish."

"And now neither." Rush said, coming close to Hannibal. The Yin-Yang Bird squawked and spread its wings, trying to look menacing, but Hannibal shooed it away. The bird reluctantly flew off. "My mistress has revived me and shown me the error of my ways. This world rightfully belongs to the demons of old… which includes you, Hannibal."

"Indeed." Hannibal growled, glaring at him. "A bean I may be but an idiot I am not. What could Lilith possible have to gain from me siding with her?"

Rush shrugged, but if he'd had a mouth he would've grinned menacingly. "The support of a long lost brother, perhaps?"

"I am not the Sin of Pride."

"Nor am I the Sin of Envy."

"I grow tired of this game, child. I have no interest in an alliance with you or your Mistress. I believe I will sit this battle out and simply observe."

Rush chuckled and drew his katana swords from the sheaths on his back. "I was hoping you'd say that. It will be much easier this way."

"Maybe on the backwards world you demons come from!" Hannibal shouted as his armor charged at Rush, a sword with a blade as long as a car and nearly half as wide appearing in his hands. He swung the great blade down at Rush who was easily able to stop it with his own swords, miniscule by comparison.

"You mean where we come from." Rush corrected.

"I am not one of you!" Hannibal protested.

"Aren't you?"

Hannibal jumped back, away from his opponent who remained stationary. But the second Hannibal's feet hit the ground Rush vanished and he felt a foot hit his back, knocking him to the ground. Hannibal rolled over to defend himself but quickly found Rush on top of him, hacking and slashing his katanas away at Hannibal's chest plate. Hannibal laughed. "Fool! Steel feels no pain!"

"Neither does a bean!" Rush shouted as he took one of his blades and stabbed it into the eye hole of Hannibal's helmet, barely missing the bean inside. Hannibal growled and threw Rush off of him, jumping back to his feet and going in for another attack. Rush was barely back on his feet when Hannibal's massive blade down upon him, knocking him further away. Hannibal came at him again and again and again, and each time the blade came down on Rush he stood there and took it and it only knocked him away.

"What is that suit made of?" Hannibal demanded. "This blade should've cut clean through you!"

Rush only chuckled. "I believe you're the one that said steel feels no pain."

Enraged at his words, Hannibal charged at his opponent again. Rush did the same. But when they met, instead of coming to another deadlock, Rush jumped over Hannibal's attack, spinning through the air and, when in the right position just behind Hannibal, cutting the head of Hannibal's armor clean off. The armor's body dropped its blade before falling to the ground. Rush chuckled in his victor and kicked up the helmet, reaching inside and pulling the tiny being within out. "Such a pesky little nuisance." Rush said as he eyed the bean clutched in his fist. "Perhaps Mistress was wrong in wanting your aid."

"She was wrong to think I would come willingly." Hannibal growled.

"Who said she thought that?" Rush inquired. "I said it would be easier if we fought, did I not?" Hannibal merely glared at him. Rush raised his hand and pressed the tip of his index finger against Hannibal's forehead. "Now you're going to serve my Mistress whether you like it or not… which I doubt you'll be conscious enough to even think about."

Hannibal suddenly found himself in a very different reality. He appeared to be in an old black and white movie, but he knew these images to have once been real, as he was there when they happened… in a way.

Dashi, Guan, and Chase before he turned to the dark side. These three stood in a bean field, weapons in hand and waiting for their enemy to make the first move. A colossal figure stood before them, so massive that its head was hidden in the clouds. Their enemy wore little more than a loin cloth and carried a gigantic kanabo, a spiked club, in its hand. The three warriors attacked their great foe and the battle raged long and fiercely. Eventually Guan managed to wound their enemy, cutting into it with his spear. The colossal being let out an unearthly cry as some blood spilled out of the gash, landing amongst the beans all around them.

Truly the beginning of a great era of evil.

The blood from the colossal beast seeped into the ground and was absorbed into the roots of one of the bean plants. Quickly a reaction began, as a single bean began to mutate; eyes, tentacles, and a mouth sprouting. The birth, of Hannibal Roy Bean.

Those were the last conscious thoughts Hannibal had as Rush pumped Lilith's evil influence into his being. Now there was no Hannibal Roy Bean, only another mindless puppet. Pleased with his work, Rush placed the bean back into the helmet and reattached it to the body of the armor. Regaining its ability to move, the armor stood and faced Rush, its great sword disappearing. "Anything to say?" Rush questioned.

Hannibal only chuckled. "The mistress will be very pleased with you."

Rush nodded in agreement. "As with you."

~CHINA~

A quiet mountain peak, wind wailing in the distance, clouds just below blocking the view of the rest of the range. Just a few yards across from this peak was another, identical one. Though old, ancient in fact, there were some clear battle scars from a previous clash fought out upon these two peaks. A sudden burst of green flames appeared atop one mountain, Wuya stepping out of it and looking out to the other mountain. She looked down and sighed. Kneeling, she placed her palm on a dark ring on the mountain rock and remembered how it was made.

She remembered it all too well.

"Eye of Dashi!"

A bolt of lightning shot out over the canyon separating them, Wuya deflecting it with her bare hand. The lightning split apart, on shot hitting the ground at her feet while the rest shot off into the sky. Wuya then engulfed her hands in green flames and clapped them together, shooting a fireball at the man across the mountain range: none other that Grand Master Dashi himself. "Sphere of Yun!" he called out, holding the Shen Gong Wu and creating a protective sphere of light around him, blocking Wuya's attack. The sphere dissipated as the flames dissipated and there was a brief pause in the battle. "Why are you doing this, Wuya?" Dashi called. "We were happy before! Why would you do this when I've shown you nothing but kindness and love?"

"Shut up!" Wuya snarled back. "You speak of happiness and love, but you betrayed me! Why am I doing this? Because you showed me that there is darkness in everyone… and I am here to bring it to the surface!"

"Wuya, please!"

"No, Dashi! I am no longer the woman you loved. I am a Heylin witch… and I shall stay as such."

Dashi growled as tears began rolling down his cheeks. "Then you leave me no choice." He knelt down and took a few small rocks and pebbles into his hand. Standing again, the stones began to glow. When the light faded and puzzle box had replaced the stones. He quickly opened it and held it out in her direction. Wuya felt herself lose control of her muscles and rise into the air. She saw her body fade away into a ghostly purple figure. Then a great wind blew up and she was pulled toward Dashi to be trapped inside that puzzle box for fifteen hundred years.

Wuya stood again as she returned from her memories to the real world and began to cry, her tears hitting the dark circle on the rocks at her feet. "Why, Dashi… why did you hurt me so?" she asked before disappearing in a burst of green flames.

~LONDON~

"Ah, that must be her over there." Chase said as he pushed his way passed Rukia and went inside, the others following after him. Mimi apologized to the woman for barging into her home, but swore it was of the utmost importance. Rukia followed the twelve of them into the kitchen where Ino still sat, staring in awe at the man who claimed to be her father. "So what is your name?" Chase asked her.

"I-Ino." She stuttered, still awe struck. "You're my father?" he asked.

"That depends on your definition of father." Chase said. "Now stand. Let's take a look at you."

Ino was somewhat insulted by Chase thinking he could just order her around, and yet she felt compelled to listen to him. She simply shook off the odd behavior, blaming it on her mixed feelings at her father's sudden appearance. She stood and Chase began to circle her slowly, looking her over from top to bottom. Not in a lingering, perverted way, but more like he was sizing her up like livestock. He seemed pleased. As he came back to her front he took her chin in his hand and looked directly into her eyes, spotting the mixture of outrage and confusion. "You've done well, Rukia." He said.

"Only as you told me, Chase." Ino's mother answered obediently.

"No, there's something more." Chase said, letting go of Ino and walking over to Rukia. "I see care, devotion… love."

"She is my daughter. How else am I supposed to raise her?"

Chase ignored the question and turned back to Ino. "Enough pleasantries. We are here on business. Ino, I've come to reclaim the key I left with you as an infant. Would you kindly go fetch it for me?"

"No." Ino said, glaring at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to give the key to you. You can't possible be my father." Chase gave her a questioning gaze. "You're, what, twenty-five? I'm sixteen. That would've made you nine at the time of my conception. I'm pretty sure that's not possible."

"I am older that I appear, child." Chase growled. "Now go fetch the Key of Hades before someone less pleasant comes for it. It is of the utmost importance that it remains in safe hands."

"Try and make me." Ino replied, glaring back at him.

"This could get ugly." Dojo said from atop Clay's hat.

He had no idea how right he was.

A dark orb suddenly appeared over the kitchen table, rapidly condensing into a single point before expanding and dissipating, the resulting shockwave knocking everyone in the building off their feet. Rai was the first to get a look at what happened. A young man now stood on the table. Very pale skin, raven hair and dark angel wings, clad only in tattered pants, and carrying a black scimitar that Rai was too familiar with. "Knock, knock." This newcomer said with a dark chuckle.

"Rai…" Kim said as she looked up at the stranger. "That guy looks a lot like—"

"Him?" the stranger questioned, pointing his blade at Rai. "I should. I was a part of him once… and soon he will be a part of me. But for now I've come for the Key of Hades… and I suppose I'll kill all of you."

"Only if you can kill me first!"

Chase came at Rai's doppelganger fast as lightning to deliver a kick but the attack was blocked by Dark Rai's arm. Dark Rai then took his blade and slashed at Chase who easily dodged it. But as his blade cut through the air a wave of dark energy shot out across the room, passing through everyone except Ino, Chase, and Rukia without harm. But when it hit the wall behind all of them it seemed to cut into it, opening a rift to a pitch black place. As Chase and Dark Rai continued to fight several black hands reached up from the other side of the rift and dark, shadowy versions of everyone the wave had touched crawled out. Kim, Clay, Omi, Saya, Mimi, Julia, Elena, Jack, Nina, and even a shadowy doppelganger of Dojo emerged. But a dark form of Rai was absent… or, rather, already present.

"Oh look, reinforcements! My favorite!" Dark Rai laughed as he brought his blade down on the refrigerator, Chase having just dodged the attack. "Darklings, take care of the rest of them!"

The Darklings obeyed Dark Rai without question and attacked their human counterparts. "Dojo, make sure Ino and Rukia stay safe!" Clay ordered as he grabbed the dragon from his hat and tossed him over to the two women. As soon as he turned back his jaw met the knuckles of his shadowy counterpart. Clay fell to the floor and Saya immediately rushed to his aid but was unable to help him before her own Darkling tackled her, pinning her to the floor.

Saya's Darkling gazed down to the identical girl beneath her with hunger in her eyes. "You look… tasty." The Darkling said. "Consuming you is going to be oh so sweet." But before she could make another move Saya's Darkling was thrown off of her, Clay grabbing the Darkling and tossing her aside.

"You okay, baby?" he asked as he helped Saya to her feet.

"Yes, other than the disturbing images of that thing cannibalizing me." Saya said.

It was then that the couple's Darklings surrounded them. Clay and Saya stood back to back as their shadowy doppelgangers circled them. Thinking quickly, Clay and Saya reached into the magic satchel that every cartoon character seems to have (1) and retrieved their Shen Gong Wu.

"Fist of Tebigong!"

"Thorn of Thunderbolt!"

The others were dealing with their own Darklings with difficulty. Omi and Mimi took on their Darklings with the Jet Bootsu and the Tangle Web Comb only to find that the Darklings could walk on walls and were too fast for the Comb to actually catch. Julia and Elena, with the Monkey Staff and Mantis Flip Coin, found that the Darklings were just as agile without the aid of Shen Gong Wu. Jack, having upgraded his robotic arm to transform into both a blaster and a blade, and Nina, with a similar weapon of Jack's design, battled their counterparts without Shen Gong Wu. And Kim and Rai took on Kim's Darkling and Dojo's Darkling with the Star Hanabi and the Canine Crossbow, but again their efforts were fruitless as the Darklings proved their skills.

Meanwhile, Dojo had grown mid way between his flying and regular sizes and was dragging Rukia and Ino upstairs for their protection as their home was destroyed by the battle below. Both were too terrified to argue with him, or even to question the fact that they were being saved by a dragon. "Quick! Where's the Key of Hades?" Dojo asked.

"It's hanging on the wall in my room." Ino answered without a second thought. "First door on the right."

Back down stairs Dark Rai brought his blade down on upon the kitchen table as Chase jumped back to avoid it. The table destroyed, Chase grabbed one of the legs and swung it at his opponent, the wooden leg shattering over his head. Dark Rai stumbled back and clutched his face. His jaw was broken and one of his cheeks were ripped open, but Dark Rai only laughed as the wounds healed almost instantly and the bones in his jaw bonded back together. "Not bad." He said. "Maybe destroying you was a hasty decision… Care to take up an offer?"

"The only offer I will take this day is your unconditional surrender." Chase growled.

Dark Rai grinned. "Fine then. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

Fast as lightning, Dark Rai moved in front of Chase in an instant and grabbed Chase by the throat, lifting him up and pinning him against the wall. Chase didn't struggle to free himself, knowing it would be a pointless effort. "Any last words?"

"Go to hell." Chase growled.

Suddenly Dark Rai was hit by a pulse of energy from Chase's body and was thrown back, hitting the wall on the other side. The fighting in the other room between the monks and their Darklings ceased as the house started to rumble. Cracks appeared in the ceiling and walls as the house collapsed. Upstairs, Dojo grabbed the Key of Hades before flying Ino and Rukia out a window. The monks, Jack, and Nina rushed out the nearest window or door while the Darklings simply vanished. Chase collapsed onto his hands and knees while Dark Rai simply dusted himself off as the house began to crumble around them. "What was that?" Dark Rai questioned with a laugh.

"That was nothing." Chase said, staggering back to his feet. "I just needed to get them out of here before I could do this!" a sphere of pure energy appeared in Chases hand and he dropped back to his knees, slamming the ball into the floor.

Outside, Dojo had barely landed with the others when what remained of the house was decimated by a sudden burst of energy. Every building within five blocks was completely destroyed and anyone in the immediate area was blown away. Omi protected his friends, Rukia, and Ino in the Sphere of Yun. Safely inside, they saw Dark Rai thrown into the air by the blast, landing far out of sight. When the dust from all of the destruction cleared, everything around was little more than rubble. Houses destroyed, trees uprooted and split in half, and many, many people were hurt badly. Omi deactivated the Sphere of Yun and Mimi pulled out the Chiyu Box. Everyone took a handful of the magic healing tablets within and went off to help anyone they could, but Rai stayed behind to watch over Rukia and Ino, both to protect them and to make sure that Dark Rai didn't get his hands on the Key of Hades, thinking his evil doppelganger was still alive.

And he was.

Dark Rai came flying back within minutes. He landed where Rukia and Ino's home once stood and lifted up the remnants of the roof, tossing it aside to find Chase lying there, dying but still barely alive. "Tell me you weren't trying to kill me." He laughed. "Ended up killing yourself instead."

"That's what happens when you put your entire being into an attack." Chase coughed.

"Collapsing building probably didn't help." Dark Rai chuckled. "Now hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

"Too late. You'll never take me alive."

Dark Rai could only laugh some more. "Who said I needed you alive?"

As Dark Rai knelt down and pressed his palm against Chase's forehead, Chase let out one last sigh of breath as his body went limp and lifeless. But as quickly has he had died Chase's eyes snapped back open. His face grew into a long snout as scales appeared allover his body and a tail manifested. As he finished his reptilian transformation it was clear that Chase's consciousness was no longer present as his now reptilian body gained a more beastly demeanor.

"This is bad." Rai said as both Dark Rai and Chase started towards them, Chase on all fours like an animal. "This is very bad." Rai didn't know what to do. Chase Young, **the** Chase Young, had died fighting Rai's dark counterpart. There was no way he could take on both of them.

"Get out of the way, boy."

Rai looked over his shoulder to find Rukia pointing the Key of Hades directly at him. Rai quickly jumped off to the side as Rukia called out its name. "Key of Hades!" Two beams of light shot out directly at Dark Rai and Chase, striking them both in the chest. She'd thought she'd finished them, but when the light passed right through them and went back to the key she lost all hope. Dark Rai burst into laughter. "Stupid woman!" he cackled. "Neither of us have souls to steal!"

Dark Rai then snapped his fingers and Chase snarled and lunged at Rukia, pouncing on her before slashing his claws into her chest biting into her throat. Rukia let out one blood curdling scream before going limp, dead. Ino was too stunned to cry. But she did notice the Key of Hades now sitting at her feet and mindlessly picked it up. Chase sensed this and his tail lashed out, the end wrapping around it at the same time that Rai and his evil counterpart grabbed it as well. All four with a secure grip, the key began to glow. "Hand over the Key of Hades or perish!" Dark Rai ordered.

"No." Rai growled back. "You want it; you're going to have to win it. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

* * *

(a/n) thats right. a xiaolin showdown. who honestly saw it coming? wait, I know what youre thinking. "Whatre you talking about? Im more concerned about Chases death/resurection/side switch." lol.

but seriously. Ive come to realize that my previous stories kind of strayed away from the show a little too much, expecially after the Fifth Dragon... actually, I think it was about half way through Seven Sins *shrugs*. anyway, Im trying to get back to the way the show was a little more while still maintaining my own influence. so Showdowns and Shen Gong Wu are going to be previlent this time around. any questions? feel free to ask. also, feel free to groan and complain that you have to wait 2 chapters to see the showdown. XP

(1) for those of you that dont know, a magic satchel is the term used when a cartoon character pulls an object out of nowhere


	5. The Future: Tears

Chapter 4: The Future: Tears

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

A flash of light erupted from the Fist of Tebigong as the world around them shifted into the setting for the challenge. It remained the eerie, Twilight Zone-esque place that was the Yin-Yang World was, but a great white cube now hung high in the air above the watchers on top of which Sarah and Riley stood. The challenge: be the first to reach the center of the maze. The problems: the walls of the maze were inside the cube and only shot up when approached; the center of the maze was on the bottom of the cube; and gravity still applied.

"Sarah's got this in the bag." Hunter said, confident in his sister's abilities. He and the other kids were watching the contest from down below.

"I bet you my dinner that she loses." Peter wagered.

"You're on." His cousin replied.

"I don't think so, you two." Logan protested. "No brother or cousin of mine is going hungry on my watch."

"Well what are we supposed to bet? Money?" Hunter chuckled.

"Kid's got a point, Logan." Bonny agreed.

"Still unwise to be malnourished." Hikari pointed out. "Especially when you're one of the youngest people left in your species."

"Oh, missing one meal isn't going to kill them." Bonny said.

"I bet Mom and the other adults would disagree." Logan said.

"Boo!" Peter shouted.

"Buzz kill." Hunter agreed.

"What do you think, Riku?" Bonny asked, turning to her twin brother. But she got no response. Riku was intently looking up at the great cube in the air, waiting for Sarah and Riley to start their Showdown. Bonny chuckled, having a good idea as to why Riku was oblivious to the conversation happening half a foot away from him.

"Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Sarah and Riley took off. After a few turns Sarah came to her first fork, surprised when a wall didn't shoot up as she passed it. She could either go straight forward or take the left she'd come across. Unable to make a decision, an idea crossed her mind. "Longi Kite!" she shouted. The Shen Gong Wu attacked itself to her back and she took off into the air, but she couldn't have gone ten feet up when her head hit something, causing her to lose her concentration and fall back to the ground. After regaining her senses, Sarah looked up to find a light fading in the sky above. A force field to keep her from cheating, no doubt. Sighing, she went with her instincts and took the left, only to be disappointed as it was a dead end.

Riley was having even less luck, having come across so many dead ends that she was beginning to think that this maze was more like a labyrinth. When she came to her twelfth dead end she let out a storm of cursing and barely stopped herself from punching the wall blocking her view of the edge of the cube. She glanced around, finding that Sarah was still on the same level as her, before turning around and continuing what she was now considering a ridiculous game. To her pleasant surprise, however, the next turn she decided to take took her straight to the edge of the cube. She grinned in satisfaction. "Jet Bootsu!" she shouted, activating the Wu upon her feet. She stepped over the edge and was glad to find that her Shen Gong Wu worked perfectly, making it seem as if gravity was now pulling her to that side of the cube instead of the top.

The game went on for a quite a bit and while the other kids were watching and cheering from close up the adults were watching quietly from farther away. While the kids did quite enjoy the Xiaolin Showdown, as they were almost the only entertainment they had, Mimi, Jack, Nina, Julia, and Elena saw them more as training, going as far as making them mandatory. The kids had to be ready for anything when going to earth, and frequent Xiaolin Showdowns prepared them quite well, given their unpredictability.

Jack turned his attention from the two competing girls to his wife sitting next to him. She seemed deep in thought, a concerned expression upon her face. "Nina?" he asked, drawing the attention of the other three women and snapping her out of her trance.

"Yes, Jack?" she asked.

"Something on your mind?"

She sighed and turned her head down to the ground. "Just thinking about… everything… About how we've saved the world time and again, but we slip up just once and suddenly humanity's numbers drop from six and a half billion to thirteen and now we're being hunted. I keep playing that day over and over again in my head, trying to think of a way we could've prevented all this, but I keep coming back to the same answer… Lilith had it all planned out from the beginning. She had meticulously noted every detail. She had a contingency plan for every possibly way we could've stopped her… And now the thought keeps running through my head: what if they find us here? What if they break into the Yin-Yang World… we're as good as dead."

"Nina…" Jack said softly, wrapping his arms around his wife.

"If they find us we fight and we escape." Mimi said bluntly. "We'll find a way to avoid the Great Eye's gaze and we'll hide on Earth. We're the last hope humanity has, so we can't just let them take us."

"She's right." Julia agreed. "We don't know why, but the Destroyer seems to refuse to unleash his people on the earth until he's obliterated every last person. All we have to do is stay alive until we find a way to defeat him."

"Yeah, but we'll be very, very lucky if there's two generations after the kids to keep up the fight. The Destroyer is the Demon King. He's all but all powerful and all but invincible. How do we beat that?" Nina questioned, giving a deadly glare at the redhead and raven haired women. "Tell me how or shut the hell up." With that she got up and stormed off, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Nina!" Jack called as he went after her.

When they were gone Elena sent a glare at Mimi and her wife. "How many times to I have to tell you two to keep your mouths shut when she gets like this?" she demanded.

"Sorry, Honey." Julia apologized.

"Yeah, sorry." Mimi agreed, though a little less sincerely.

Elsewhere, Nina had hidden herself behind one of the many obscure objects that dotted the Yin-Yang World. She heard Jack calling after her but didn't answer him. She wasn't mad at him, or even that upset about what Mimi and Julia had said… there was something else that was irking her emotions. Some overly foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach that was driving her to tears. "There you are." She heard Jack say as he approached her. "What's going on, Nina? You of all people know that you shouldn't go off by yourself in the Yin-Yang World. You made that rule yourself after we spent a week looking for Riley."

She looked up to him, cheeks red, tears rolling down, and unable to stop her jaw from quivering. "Something's coming, Jack." She said. "Something's coming to get us."

Jack immediately sat down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to comfort the redhead. She'd had some small emotional breakdowns before, given her history with Pride and his ilk, but this was worse than usual. Usually she didn't even cry when she was feeling down, but this time she was struggling not to sob. "Shush, it's all right, Baby. Nothing's coming to get us." He kept repeating.

"I keep seeing the same face over and over again in my head…" Nina admitted. "It's Omi… he's covered in tattoos and he keeps laughing… then everything goes dark in my head and I feel cold."

"C'mon, its' okay, Nina." Jack continued. "I'll always be here to warm you."

Nina turned into Jack's embrace, nuzzling her face into his neck. "I need you to warm me now." She said softly.

Jack pulled his head back slightly in surprise. He had a good idea of what she meant but he thought she couldn't be serious. Maybe her emotional state was confusing her, but Jack cast out all his doubts when Nina craned her neck to capture his lips in hers. She needed this and Jack was more than willing to comply to see her smile again. As Jack removed his trench coat and undershirt the redhead pushed him onto his back and ran her hands over his now bare arms, feeling the warm flesh of his real one and the cold metal of his prosthetic one. She'd been a little hesitant during intimate moments about Jack's false limbs early on in their relationship, but now twenty-five years in she'd grown to like the feel of his metal, especially during warm nights. They continued kissing and removing clothing through the flash of light that signaled the end of Sarah and Riley's showdown.

As the flash faded Riley stood proudly holding the Fist of Tebigong and the Longi Kite, the Jet Bootsu still on her feet. Sarah, meanwhile, was lying on the ground as a result of what had cost her the game. She'd been flying through the maze on the bottom of the cube, the center of the maze and the Fist of Tebigong literally feet away from her. She'd thought she had a straight path to victory, but as the last second a wall shot out of the cube, blocking her path and causing the Longi Kite to fall off her back. She fell and watched helplessly as Riley claimed victory.

Riku smiled as he saw Riley holding the Longi Kite and Fist of Tebigong, still wearing the Jet Bootsu, as a result of her victory. But as he and his friends approached the two, he went over to Sarah and offered her a hand. "You all right?" he asked.

Sarah nodded and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Yeah. Thanks Riku." She said.

"Way to go, Riley!" Peter said excitedly as he approached her. "Give me some skin!" She happily high-fived the ten-year-old who then turned to Hunter. "Told you she'd win, man."

"You know, your brother's right, Peter." Hunter said. "We really shouldn't be betting our food over Showdowns."

"Too late." Peter insisted. "I'm having two servings tonight."

"You wanna repeat that?" Logan questioned, casting a menacing shadow over Peter as he stood behind his younger brother.

"Good job." Hikari said to Riley. "I guess defying gravity is more reliable than flying."

"Got that right." Riley agreed with a grin. She then turned to her fallen opponent. "How's your ass, Sarah?"

"Bruised, but I can still sit down." Sarah said, then a thought crossed her mind. "And if that was some kind of innuendo, still as spankin' as ever thank you." This made Riley laugh. Why that girl was so upbeat all the time was far beyond everyone else, but no one was complaining. She lightened up their otherwise depressing lives.

As the eight children went to meet the adults, a thought crossed Bonny's mind. "Hey, Riku… What was it like, meeting everyone's parents in the past? I've always wanted to know what Mom and Dad were like at our age."

Riku just chuckled. "You remember how we'd all spend hours watching old home movies years ago when we all got together at the temple?" he asked.

"I was an infant the last time that happened." Hunter pointed out.

"Well I wasn't asking you." Riku said. "Anyway… it was exactly like that." He said. "Except… ten times more real. Actually getting to interact with our parents instead of… In all honesty, greatest feeling I've felt in a long time."

"Sounds like paradise." Hikari said.

"Pretty damn close." Riku agreed. "Pretty damn close…"

When Mimi, Julia, and Elena finally came into view was when thinks started turning sour… extremely sour. A vortex opened in the path of the eight children. They'd all been trained to scatter and prepare for a fight when this happened and everyone was already there, but none of them ever actually thought it would happen and they froze up. Omi stepped through the portal, his expressionless face and tentacle tattoos causing Logan's blood to boil. "Dad!" he shouted.

But Omi didn't respond. Instead the Darklings followed him through the portal; first Clay, the Kim, then Saya, and finally Rai. "Well, well, well, look what we have here." Dark Rai laughed as he eyed the eight children before him, lusting for blood. "Riku! You're back! No wonder we couldn't spot you in the time stream."

Despite every nerve screaming at him to attack, Riku remained still, allowing his rage to build as he heard the sound of his father's voice. "So, here before us stands the last of humanity." Dark Rai continued. "What do you think we should do with them, my friends?"

Dark Clay licked his lips. "They look… tasty." He said, chuckling darkly.

"Indeed they do, Darling." Dark Saya agreed. "But I believe they'd be more useful as statues in the garden."

"Perhaps we should bring them to Mistress Lilith so she may present them to her father." Dark Kim suggested.

"All excellent ideas." Dark Rai complimented. "What do you think, Omi?"

Omi slowly looked over the eight children before him, stopping briefly when he spotted Logan and Peter but showing no reaction to their faces. "Mother wishes them destroyed." He finally said. "We must obey Mother… her word is law."

Dark Rai chuckled. "You heard the man." He said to his fellow Darklings. "Get them."

"Star Hanabi!"

The flaming shuriken shot out at the Darklings, nearly hitting Dark Kim but she managed to catch it in her hand without flinching. While Omi kept his gaze on the children, the four Darklings turned their attention to their attackers, finding Mimi holding the Sword of the Storms, Julia wielding the Golden Tiger Claws and Hitsuji Hammer, and Elena with the Thorn of Thunderbolts and Chimera's Breath. Dark Rai began laughing. "Well look at this! A complete family reunion!" The other Darklings laughed along with him until he stopped abruptly, his amusement switching to determination and anger. "Get them!" he ordered.

Elsewhere Jack and Nina had realized what was happening and were just finishing pulling their clothes back on. "Of all the times for there to be an attack…" Jack complained as he slid one arm into his trench coat.

"Shut up, Jack. They need us over there." Nina scolded as she finished buttoning her blouse.

The couple raced towards the sounds of battle and stopped dead in their tracks when they found it, discouraged but not at all surprised at what they saw. There was no doubting the power of Omi and the Darklings. Even doubling their enemy's numbers, Riku and the others were no doubt fighting a losing battle even if putting up an amazing fight.

"Diamond Gauntlet!" Riku shouted, slipping the band of precious stone onto his arm. A gleaming energy blade shot out from the gauntlet and Riku charged at his father who wielded his black iron sword with the neon green glowing etchings. The blades rebounded off each other again and again, sending sparks flying in all directions. Suddenly Bonny came out of nowhere with the Canine Crossbow and launched the bolts at her demonic father. Dark Rai folded his leathery wings in front of his face, blocking the explosive darts. When the smoke cleared he hadn't a scratch and was laughing. Suddenly Dark Kim dropped down in front of him and swiped the Star Hanabi through the air before her, sending a wave of flames at their children. As the twins jumped out of the way of the attack Julia dropped out of a rift created by the Golden Tiger Claws and attacked the two demons with the Hitsuji Hammer.

Dark Clay dropped down on one knee and punched the ground of the Yin-Yang World, a wall of rock and earth shooting up to protect him and Dark Say from the blasts from the Emerald Gauntlet, wielded by their daughter, Sarah. As Dark Clay maintained the rock shield against Sarah's relentless attacks, Dark Saya spread her wings and maneuvered around the attacks and tackled Sarah to the ground. Pinning her daughter to the ground, Dark Saya raised one hand into the air, fingers outstretched like claws and electricity surging through them. But just as she was about to bring her wrath down on the blond girl beneath her… "Silk Spitter!" Sticky ropes of string shot out, knocking Dark Saya off of her eldest daughter and onto the ground, her arms and wings pinned to her body. It had been Hunter who had attacked her. While Dark Saya struggled against her bonds, Dark Clay rushed at the boy, grabbing him by the shoulders and lifting him into the air. Dark Clay looked up at the struggling boy with wanting in his eyes, saliva dripping from his lips in anticipation of his next meal. But before he could make a move Hunter was ripped from his hands but Hikari using the Ruby of Ramses, followed by Elena striking Dark Clay with the Thorn of Thunderbolts. At that point Dark Saya managed to break her bonds and lunge at Elena, jumping over the jet of flames from Elena's Chimera's Breath and landing on the Spanish woman's back, pinning her to the ground. Just as she was about to rip Elena's heart out with an electrically charged hand, Dark Saya noticed Sarah standing once again with the Emerald Gauntlet pointed right at her.

Omi stood silently as Logan, Peter, Mimi, and Riley surrounded him. As the prepared to attack Omi clenched his fists and a dark aura manifested around his body. "Omi, stop this!" Mimi pleaded. "I know you're still in there!"

"I'll be the judge of that!" Logan cried out. With Musha's Sword in hand, Logan charged at his father. Omi simply raised his hand and blasted his son away with a pulse of dark energy. Riley came at him next, trying to subdue him with the Tangle Web Comb but Omi managed to jump out of the way, grab onto the teeth of the comb and pull it away from her. He then used it to trap Riley in a cocoon using the Shen Gong Wu. Tossing the Tangle Web Comb aside, he sidestepped the oncoming Lasso Boa Boa from Peter and blasted him away as he did Logan. With only Mimi left Omi remained still, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Damn it." Mimi growled. She slashed the Sword of the Storms through the air, sending a hurricane force wind at Omi, but the demon man stood his ground and simply knocked the wind away with his hand. Then, with a clap of his hands, he send a wave of dark energy at Mimi, knocking her off her feet. He waited silently for another attack, and whirled around to catch the blade of Musha's Sword as Logan came at him, trying to decapitate his father.

As Jack and Nina watched the battle before them unfold, they failed to notice a small portal opening overhead. But with an earsplitting cry something dove down and grabbed onto Nina's shoulder, lifting her into the air. It was a small gray and black bird with a red crest. "The Yin-Yang Bird?" Jack questioned in shock as the bird passed back through the portal with Nina. Less than ten seconds after the bird disappeared with Nina it reappeared over the battlefield, dove down, and grabbed Peter, taking him back through the portal with it. The bird proceeded to do this with the other seven children, taking them safely out of the reach of the Darklings but to where was uncertain.

"Quickly! Get the women before that retched bird returns!" Dark Rai ordered. The other three Darklings surrounded Elena, Julia, and Mimi. The three women stood back to back, ready to fend off any attack, but weren't expecting what came next. While Dark Clay, Dark Saya, and Dark Kim kept them distracted Dark Rai produced the Sphere of Yun and activated it, capturing their remaining three foes in a mystical bubble.

When the Yin-Yang Bird returned a tenth time, it was discouraged to find Julia, Elena, and Mimi already captured. But then it caught sight of Jack, the last person it had any hope of helping. It dove down at the red haired man, grabbing him by the shoulder and flying back to its portal.

"There's that blasted buzzard!" Dark Rai exclaimed. "Would you take care of it, Darling?"

"With pleasure." Dark Kim agreed. She manifested two fireballs in her hands and tossed them both in the direction of the Yin-Yang Birds portal, timing it so perfectly that when the Bird was just about to pass threw her attack struck it. The Bird lost its concentration as it was struck, losing its focus on where it meant to return as it passed through the portal. Still, Jack and Yin-Yang Bird got away.

"Blast." Dark Rai growled.

"Fret not, Dear." Dark Kim said. "We got three of them."

"That's not what anger's me."

"Pray tell?" Dark Saya inquired.

"That Bird… It was rescuing them as if commanded too." Dark Rai explained.

"So?" Dark Clay asked.

"So, that means there's someone still on Earth which it takes its orders from… which means there's one more person out there that we haven't found."

"Sounds like a certain traitor to me." Omi pointed out.

"Indeed." Dark Saya agreed."

"Rush has certainly earned himself a whipping." Dark Rai commented.

"Later." Dark Kim said. "Right now we must take care of the spoils of war… Omi, I believe you know what to do."

Omi nodded and stepped forward towards the magical sphere which trapped Julia, Elena, and Mimi. Laughing quietly by sadistically, Dark Clay reached inside the bubble, pulling Julia and Elena out and throwing them to the ground before Omi. The two women got to their knees and looked up to Omi. Seeing no remorse in his eyes, they prepared for what came next and hugged each other tightly. "At least Riley made it." Elena whispered into Julia's ear. Omi then reached out and placed his hands against their heads. Slowly, their flesh began to turn to stone. Both women cried quietly, but as their faces became as rock, tears continued to steam.

Once the transformation was complete Omi stepped aside and Dark Clay reached inside the sphere again, pulling out Mimi this time. She too got to her knees and looked up to Omi, but didn't lose hope when she saw nothing in his eyes. "Please, Omi, don't do this." She pleaded. "It's me, Mimi… Your wife, the mother of your sons! Don't you remember?"

And for a brief moment, Omi seemed to recall the auburn locks of hair on the woman kneeling before him. "Mi…mi?"

Mimi smiled, hope seemingly restored. "That's right, Omi." She said as she pulled the short, demonic man into a hug. "Remember, please… If not for me or our boys, then for yourself, remember."

"I… I…" Omi seemed immobilized, the realization of who this woman was conflicting with his base demonic instinct of wanting to destroy her.

"You're mother is waiting, Omi." Dark Rai reminded him.

And then hope was lost. "Mother…" he pulled away from Mimi as he remembered his soul purpose in life. "I must obey my mother…" he placed his hand against the forehead of the now crying woman. "Mother's word is law…"

As her flesh slowly turned to stone, Mimi whimpered and took one last look at the man she once loved. "Protect them, Omi… Protect our boys…" Those were her last words before she was consumed in lifeless rock.

All four Darklings grinned, knowing full well how obliviously Omi had just murdered his own wife and basking in the pure evil of the moment. "Mistress Lilith will be very pleased with you, Omi." Dark Rai said. "Now come, we must continue are search for the young ones and the other two adults."

Dark Rai opened a portal and stepped through it, followed swiftly by Dark Kim and the other two Darklings. But Omi remained behind for a moment, taking one last look at the statues he'd just created. All three continued producing tears as if still alive and wallowing in their own sorrow. But as Omi turned to enter Dark Rai's portal he felt something in the corner of his eye, an alien wetness that moved down his cheek. He raised a finger to his face and wiped it under this sensation, pulling it away to find a small drop of water resting on his finger. He recognized it as a tear, but could not comprehend why he was crying. Passing it off as nothing in his own mind, his wiped the tear away on his shirt and passed through Dark Rai's portal, joining the Darklings in the hunt.


	6. The Present: Voices

(**A/N**) Merry Christmas everybody!... okay, so its still a few days away, but I got this done and if I dont post this now I wont get another chance until saturday. anyway, I felt that Ive been neglecting this story for long enough and, as a present to my loyal readers, I would update it for the holidays. Dont get the wrong idea though, this is still on hiatus until I finish TDD.

anyway, enjoy this new chapter of "A Tale of Two Times"

* * *

Chapter 5: The Present: Voices

"We have no need to play your games." Dark Rai said, tightening his grip on the Key of Hades. "Surrender the key and your deaths will be quick."

"The showdown has been declared!" Rai argued. "If you refuse to compete you forfeit the key."

Chase snarled, saliva drooling from his reptilian muzzle as he went to attack Rai, but Dark Rai stopped him. "Very well." He said. "My pet and I accept your challenge. Name the game."

"Hold on. What's happening?" Ino demanded.

"A Xiaolin Showdown." Rai explained. "A challenge to determine who claims the Key of Hades. You and me versus them. The winners take the key as well as any other Shen Gong Wu wagered. Do you think you're up for it?"

Ino wanted to say no. These people Raimundo wanted to battle against were monsters! She couldn't hold a candle to them in any sort of competition; she was just a girl! But something was urging her to accept. There was a voice in her head. She could just barely hear it, but it was telling her that she had to do this. This winged villain had murdered her father and then forced his corpse to kill her mother. She wanted this. She needed this. She bared her teeth and furrowed her brow. "Let's do this."

Rai nodded and turned back to his doppelganger. "All right. The game is Capture the Wu. First team to obtain three of the five wins. Our Canine Crossbow and Sword of the Storm against… do you have anything to wager?"

Dark Rai smirked. "How about something new?" he said. In his free hand he manifested two Shen Gong Wu. One was a glove with eagle like talons on the tips of the fingers and the other was a crystal flask. "We wager the Klaw of Kronos and the Flask of Phantoms."

By this point Kimiko and the others had returned from helping people and were watching the beginnings of the showdown. Dojo gasped and jumped onto Clay's hat when he heart which Wu Dark Rai and Chase were using. "Rai! Ino!" he shouted. "Whatever you do, don't let them use those Wu on you! The Klaw of Kronos can progress or regress your age to whatever the user wants, even to the point of death or pre-life. The Flask of Phantoms will unleash a ghostly being upon you which will try to drag you back into the flask with it."

"Thanks for telling them what they do, Dojo!" Rai growled.

Chase suddenly snarled, gaining everyone's attention. "Enough!" Dark Rai declared. "It is time to begin this. Xiaolin Showdown!"

The Key of Hades erupted with light and the arena for the showdown was set. An octagonal slab of concrete rose into the air, Rai and Ino standing on one side with Dark Rai and Chase on the opposite. "Do you know how to fight, Ino?" Rai asked. She shook her head. "That's all right. Just grab one if it comes near you and hold onto it. We only need three to win. Now get ready."

"Gong Yi Tanpai!"

The arena split in half, separating the two duos as it moved apart. The Sword of the Storm shot up from the crack and Rai and Dark Rai both went for it. Rai managed to grab it first but Dark Rai kicked it out of his hand and grabbed it by the blade. Rai grabbed the handle and pulled, slicing open Dark Rai's hand. He did not yell or even bleed as he examined the wound, and in an instant it was healed. He grinned. "My turn."

Back on the ground the two halves of the arena had merged back together and Rai and Dark Rai continued their aerial battle over the Sword of the Storm. Ino expected Chase to attack her at any moment, but he remained stationary, waiting for the opportune moment. Then the arena split again, this time in the opposite direction, and two more Shen Gong Wu shot up. Ino grabbed the Flask of Phantoms, which popped up right next to her, while Chase obtained the Canine Crossbow in a similar fashion. Immediately Chase aimed and pulled the trigger, sending the dog-shaped, homing crossbow bolts at Ino. Without thinking, Ino lifted up the flask and called out its name. "Flask of Phantoms!" Its top opened and two shadowy figures shot out, each grabbing onto one of the bolts before retreating back into the flask with their targets in hand. Enraged, Chase roared and pulled the trigger on the crossbow one more time before dropping onto all fours and charging at his opponent. Ino used the flask again, one ghoul going for the bolt, which retrieved its target easily while the other went for Chase. When Chase and the phantom met the reptilian man slashed his way through it. When it came at him again, Chase ripped a single scale from his flesh and tossed it. The phantom caught it and registered it as the target, and returned to the flask. Chase may have been a monster now, but he was still smart. The phantoms from the flask targeted the essence of the target. If it retrieved a small piece of the target, it would return to the flask without question.

Ino tried using the flask again as Chase continued advancing toward her, but he continued giving each ghost small scales to slake their lust. Finally Chase was directly in front of her and spun around, slapping her to the ground with his tail and knocking the flask from her hand, picking it up. Chase now had two Wu. Ino looked up and was relieved to find that Rai was currently in possession of the Sword of the Storm, but she still had her own problems. She was defenseless and a razor clawed monster was standing over her. What was she going to do?

Then she heard the voice again, and this time it spoke clearly. _You are pathetic, relying on Shen Gong Wu to protect yourself. A real warrior needs only her bare hands to defeat her enemies. Observe._

Ino lost control of her muscles. Against her will, she jumped back to her feet and went to attack Chase. Chase growled at her and pointed the Flask of Phantoms in her direction, a phantom bolting from its top. To her own amazement, Ino jumped over the phantom and then kicked the flask from Chase's claw. When it left his hand, the phantom, no longer having a master, returned to the flask. Chase was completely awestruck by this new feat of strength and was caught off guard when Ino attacked him again, catching his jaw with an uppercut. Before he had even hit the ground Ino attacked again, kicking the Canine Crossbow from his other claw. Chase used his tail to flip himself over in the air and landed on all fours, foaming at the mouth. He charged at her again but Ino remained in one spot. At the last second, she lifted her hand, revealing that she now held the Flask of Phantom's and shouted its name. Chase was too close; he had no time to offer the ghoul a scale before it could grasp him and pull him into the flask.

Ino then dashed over to the Canine Crossbow and grabbed it before regaining control of her muscles. "What the hell?" she demanded, dropping to her knees.

_Do you see what I can offer you? _The voice asked her. _Don't think that this is the last you've heard of me._

It was then that Ino realized that she held two of the Shen Gong Wu. She looked up and was disappointed to find that Dark Rai now held the Sword of the Storm. The arena must have opened again during her fight with Chase, as he also had the Klaw of Kronos. Speaking of which…

"Klaw of Kronos!" Dark Rai shouted, driving the talons of the glove into Rai's chest. Rai cried out in pain as his hair began to turn gray, his muscles deteriorated, and his skin wrinkled. Dark Rai stopped before he made Rai too old, wanting him to suffer defeat before death, and let Rai drop to the ground before slowly descending himself. "You put up a good fight kid." He complemented. "Then again, I knew that. I used to be part of you, after all. But now it's time to end this. You are utterly useless, so I think I'll stroll over to your little friend and take her toys. How she managed to defeat my pet is beyond me."

Dark Rai took his time in walking in Ino's direction. Terrified, Ino became paralyzed and could only think one thing. _I need help! I need help! I need help!_

_Then you shall have it_.

Ino lost control of herself again and shot directly at Dark Rai, lightning fast. This caught Dark Rai off guard, but not enough that he couldn't counter the attack. With a swift kick, he knocked the Flask of Phantoms out of Ino's hand, but to his surprise she was quick enough to take the Klaw of Kronos from him. Dark Rai caught the flask from the air and Ino dashed away, slipping the Klaw onto her hand and driving it into Rai's back as she called out its name, returning Rai to the proper age.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Dark Rai mumbled to himself as he opened the flask with his hands, releasing Chase. "How is it that you obtained these skills, girl?" he called to her.

"I wish I knew." Ino said to herself.

"Just roll with it, you're doing awesome." Rai said as he pushed himself to his feet.

The two duos stood on opposite sides of the arena, Dark Rai and Chase having the Flask of Phantoms and Sword of the Storm and Rai and Ino having the Klaw of Kronos and Canine Crossbow. Then the arena opened again and the Key of Hades shot up. "This ends here!" Dark Rai shouted as he took to the air to retrieve the final Wu, Rai following after him while Chase and Ino remained on the ground to watch. They seemed even, it could have gone either way…

But Dark Rai was slightly faster.

In a flash the arena returned to its natural state, the ruins of a once ordinary street in the suburbs of London. Rai and Ino collapsed to their knees as their friends surrounded them, Clay and Saya standing between them and their victorious opponents while the others helped them to their feet. Dark Rai and Chase stood proudly holding their winnings. Dark Rai raised the Key of Hades into the air and examined it. "And so begins the end." He said to himself.

"This is seriously bad." Dojo said to the others. "They have one of the most powerful Shen Gong Wu ever created… we have to get out of here, now."

"I'm afraid that's going to be quite impossible." Dark Rai chuckled as he lowered the Key of Hades, aiming it directly at the group. "Key of Hades!" Almost a dozen beams of light shot from the key's end, flying directly at the group. Saya moved in front of everyone and pulled the Reversing Mirror from her sleeve, using it to deflect the attack back at its user. As the beams went through Dark Rai and Chase with no affect, Dojo grew to his flying size and slithered between the legs of all eleven teenagers and then took off into the air.

Chase almost took off running after them, but Dark Rai stopped him. "Not yet, my pet. There will be other opportunities."

"But for now you both have done an exceptional job."

Dark Rai and Chase turned around to find Lilith standing behind them with two others; one Dark Rai recognized as Hannibal Roy Bean in his suit of armor but the other only seemed to be a faceless ninja. "Lilith. You actually convinced Hannibal to join is… and I use the term _convince_ vaguely. Who's the other guy?"

Lilith chuckled. "Oh, just a lost soul who I have given a purpose to. He was once a friend of your better half."

"Rush?" Dark Rai questioned.

Lilith ignored him. "I see you've managed to take Chase as well. Excellent!"

"Now all we need is Wuya to complete the set." Rush said.

"Doubt that would happen." Lilith said. "Her will is too strong and she resents me with every fiber of her being. The day she joins us, willingly or now, dead or alive, is the day I hand the keys over to the monks."

"Then we don't need her." Hannibal said.

Chase snorted in agreement.

"Good. Now let's get down to business. Our next target…" Without another word Lilith lifted her hand up and conjured a flame, showing it to her four minions. Inside the flame was an image of a man… Master Monk Guan.

~GUAN'S TEMPLE~

Guan strolled leisurely through the grounds of his temple, enjoying a moonlit walk. It was a peaceful night. Everything was at ease. He looked up to fight a bright, full moon surrounded by a blanket of stars. There was a cool breeze which rustled the leaves on nearby trees. Yes, tonight would be one of rest and relaxation for the warrior monk… or so he thought. When Guan looked back down he saw a figure sitting on a wall nearby. The moon light had blurred his focus a little, but once it returned and saw who it was, he assumed a fighting stance. "Wuya!" He called out. "Of all the things that would ruin my night." Wuya didn't acknowledge him and kept looking up at the moon. "Reveal your intentions!" Guan demanded. But again, she didn't answer,

"Do you remember the day we met, Guan?" she finally asked.

Guan lowered his guard, taken aback by the question. "Excuse me?"

She looked down to him. "Do you remember the day that Dashi introduced us?" she reiterated.

Now Guan was completely at ease, sure that Wuya's presence was no threat to him. "As if it were yesterday." He answered.

He remembered the day very well. Fifteen-hundred long years ago, on an ordinary day like any other, Grand Master Dashi introduced him to the woman who would one day become one of the most dangerous people on the planet. It had been a beautiful morning and Guan was returning from the river with two buckets of water which he intended to deliver to an elderly woman who lived in a nearby village. As he continued up the road to the village he passed by the Xiaolin Temple and he gazed through the front gate to find Dashi walking along side a woman with long auburn hair. They were talking and laughing, clearly enjoying each others company. Guan chuckled to himself and looked away, planning to continue on his way, but they caught him.

"Hey, Guan!" Dashi called.

Guan stopped again, having not even taken two steps, and looked back over to them, finding Dashi and the woman now approaching him. As they came closer Guan saw who Dashi had taken a liking to this woman. She was stunningly beautiful and yet she still had a certain aura of intellect about her. "Been a while, buddy. What's going on?" Dashi asked as they stopped by Guan.

"Nothing much." Guan answered. "Just delivering water to the elderly as I do every day. Who is your friend?"

"Oh, right, you two haven't met. This is—"

"My name is Wuya." She cut in. Now Guan really knew why Dashi had taken a liking to her; she had attitude. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Guan."

"The pleasure is all mine." Guan replied, bowing.

Dashi kept silent as he watched the two converse. In his experience women tended to be timid and not very talkative, especially in the presence of men. But Wuya was more than comfortable talking to Guan on an equal level. She was an outgoing woman. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or even argue. A true rarity, she was. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he enjoyed her company so much.

"Dashi tells me you're quite the martial artist." Wuya commented.

"Well he should know." Guan replied. "He taught me himself."

"Really? He's been teaching me as well."

"Interesting…" Guan said with a smirk, glancing over to Dashi. "Perhaps you could show me the skills he has taught you."

"That won't be necessary." Dashi said, cutting in. "It's only been a few weeks. She barely knows the basics."

"Excuse me?" Wuya demanded, glaring at Dashi. She then turned back to Guan. "I'd be more than happy to show you my skills. How about here and now?"

"Wuya, he's been training for nearly two decades!" Dashi protested, but his words went unheeded.

"Sounds good to me." Guan agreed, setting down his buckets of water.

Dashi scratched the back of his head. "This isn't going to end well."

Guan and Wuya stood a ways away from each other on the road, bowed and assumed their fighting stances while Dashi remained in the temple gateway, watching intently. Guan made the first move, getting a running start before leaping and flipping through the air. He extended one leg, planning to bring his foot down on the woman, but she managed to catch him by the heel and twist him over her, slamming him down on the ground. Guan immediately kicked her away while she still had a hold of his foot, knocking her onto her back while he rolled onto his feet. He ran at her as she got back to her feet and threw a kick which she ducked under. As he turned around and attempted to throw a punch Wuya jumped up and grabbed onto his shoulders, flipping herself over him and landing behind. Guan turned around and they proceeded to throw punch after kick after punch at each other, always able to block the others attack. Soon they came to a deadlock, Wuya catching Guan's fist in her hand. They glared at each other for a moment and then Wuya began to chuckle, Guan soon joining her and together they let down their guard and laughed.

Dashi smiled from the temple gate. Wuya learned quickly.

As the memory faded, Guan and Wuya looked each other in the eye. "What happened to you, Wuya?" Guan asked as she looked away, back to the moon. "You were happy with Dashi. You loved him. He loved you. What changed? What made you turn into what you have become?"

Wuya knew at least part of the answer, but she didn't say a word. She remembered why she had left Dashi, why she had joined Pride, why she had become a witch, but she knew there was something more. Something she had forgotten that was the key to everything. "That's what I'm trying to figure out." She answered. She then jumped down from her perch on the wall and began walking into the forest. "You should hide the Key of Anubis well." She said before disappearing into the shadows. "Lilith is back."

Guan remained still, his eyes never leaving the spot where Wuya had left. But soon something else caught his attention, something long and serpentine passing in front of the moon. Dojo swooped down, eleven young passengers on his back. "Dojo? Omi? What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"Long story." Dojo said.

"We think that our temple might not be safe at the moment." Kimiko explained. "Do you mind if we stay here for a while?"

Guan shook his head. "Of course not. Make yourselves at home."

* * *

(**A/N**) now, Im going to try to update this story again before winter break is over with the next installment of the future side of this story, but after that this story is being shelved again at least until I finish Total Drama Dynamite. Im sorry, but five stories is just too much and Ive chosen my priorities. However, once TDD is finished this will become one of my top three priorities again, so look forward to that.

also, for those who enjoyed the first two chapters of "The Island" that will become a priority story again after I finish a second story (which will likely be Undead Drama Mainland. sorry, but its going to be a shorty again).


	7. The Future: Long Lost

Chapter 6: The Future: Long Lost

Riku groaned as he regained consciousness. "Second time in two days I've woken up with no idea where I am." He sat up and rubbed his eyes before getting a look at his surroundings.

He cried.

He couldn't stop the tears from rolling as green grass filled his vision, something that hadn't existed in ten long years. This alone told him that something very good or very bad had happened. Riku closed his eyes and lay back down, his palms laying flat on the ground so he could just feel the soft blades beneath him. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven, and would have welcomed. He was awestruck, so fixated on the feel of the grass beneath him that he almost didn't notice the sound of running water nearby. Not just running water, but a waterfall in the distance. Without opening his eyes Riku stood and faced the sound of the water. Then he opened his eyes and let out a soft sob.

Not far off was the edge of a forest, from the sounds of it teeming with birds and insects and other animals. A small stream came out of the forest, water running smoothly and cleanly over sand and rocks visible at the shallow bottom. Even a few fish swam along. The stream went right past where Riku stood and his sister and friends lay, still unconscious. And in the distance was a single mountain, close enough to be clearly visible but far enough away that it almost blended in with the blue sky. Riku guessed that the stream came from melting ice on the mountains snowy peak.

"Guys, wake up… I think we're dead." He said, sounding almost happy.

Riley was the first to stir. "Riku," she grumbled as she got to her knees, "As much as I love your brand of humor, I think that…" then she opened her eyes and stopped mid-sentence. "… I think you might be right. This place looks like paradise… like…"

"Heaven." Riku finished for her.

The others were soon awake as well and they all shared the same reactions to their new surroundings; shock, awe, tears, and disbelief. But they were so fixated on the beauty before then that it wasn't until Logan turned around that they realized something. This was an oasis of life on a world and death. When Logan turned around he saw, not twenty meters away, the end of this paradise. A straight line running for miles where grass met dead earth. When the stream hit this line the water within it became black and murky, probably poisonous as well. Oddly enough none of the fish swam passed this line, instinctively turning around and heading back up stream when they got to close.

"It's almost like they know they'll die if they pass there." Sarah said as she knelt by the stream, examining it. She was right by the line where the grass stopped and she started breathing a bit heavier. "It's weird… when I get too close I get this… this draining feeling. Almost like the world beyond is going to kill me."

"That would explain it." Bonny agreed.

"Kids, look over here." Nina called.

"Yeah, come see!" Peter called after.

"It will blow your mind!" Hunter added.

The six older children walked over to where the older women and the two youngsters stood. They saw a second line where the grass ended, this one at a sharp angle from the first. Nina and the boys were standing not far away from where the two ends met, and right at the intersection, driven into the ground, was a large copper key. "Is that what I think it is?" Hikari asked.

Nina nodded. "It's the Key of Anubis." And indeed it was; a large copper key with the handle masterfully crafted into the shape of the head of the Egyptian god of the dead. "But what is it doing here? I thought Lilith and the Destroyer obliterated the Keys of Eternity a decade ago."

"Let's find out." Peter suggested. He took a few steps forward, but before he could even reach out to grab it he was knocked onto his back. Nina went to help the boy to his feet while the others moved to defend them from Peter's attacker… a man in ninja's garbs.

"I apologize for the rudeness of my greeting," the man said, "But I'm afraid I can't allow you to take the Key of Anubis, nor the other two."

"You gonna stop us, buddy?" Logan demanded.

"If I must, but I'd prefer that we skip these shenanigans and get down to business."

"Who the hell do you think you are, attacking my cousin like that?" Hunter demanded.

"Who do you think I am?"

There was a brief pause, not a guess among the group. But then Nina pushed her way forward through the wall of teenagers and took a long look at the man. Then her mouth fell open slightly. "Rush?... Is that you?"

"It's been a long time, Sloth." Riku said.

Nina chuckled. "I go by Nina now. My days as a Sin are long over."

"Glad to hear it. Unfortunately my ties to the demonic forces remain… slightly less severed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bonny asked.

"It's not a bad thing. In fact it's the only reason I'm more or less alive. They underestimated my will power, fortunately, and I managed to escape their control. But enough about me, I suppose you're wondering about this little oasis. Well… this is my humble abode and the last refuge for life on earth. I call it the ark."

"Clever." Hikari said.

"Not really. But it is appropriate. This is quite literally the only place left on the planet where life remains. And had you removed that key from the ground, young man, you would have destroyed it all… as well as me" Rush demonstrated by sticking his hand beyond the edge of the oasis. The suit seemed to deflate as it went over the edge, as if the only thing inside the ninja garbs was Rush's spirit. "Do you see?" Rush asked as he retracted his hand.

"Hey, I'm the comic relief. Sue me." Peter huffed.

Rush shook his head and gazed out into the wasteland. "The Key of Hades. The Key of Anubis. The Key of Hel. These three Shen Gong Wu form a triangle, making a barrier which the Great Eye and the Oni's influence can not cross."

"Oni?" Riku asked.

Rush chuckled. "That's right… you don't know his name."

"The Destroyer." Riley said.

"Is that what you call him? Appropriate, I suppose… But we have important matters to discuss. I've been watching you all through the Yin-Yang Bird for some time now."

"What?" Hunter shouted.

"Then why didn't you get us out of there?" Sarah demanded.

"Because you were safe there!" Rush growled, glaring at them. "… or at least you were for a while. But then they found you some how, and I had to bring you here sooner than planned."

"Oh great. There's a plan." Bonny grumbled.

Suddenly a thunder-like rumbling erupted from the sky and Rush looked straight up. Dark clouds were gathering overhead. "Come. We don't have much time." Rush ordered, begging their trek towards the forest. "The Great Eye approaches. The Keys of Eternity may guard me and the creatures that reside here from its gaze, but you nine are free to leave at your will. It can spot you, and if it does everything I've worked for will be lost."

"Then why did you bring us here?" Logan asked.

"Because you are the only hope that this world has." Rush said. "You are the last of humanity, and so long as humanity remains hope exists… That is their weakness. The higher demons you've encountered may be able to withstand it, but to lesser demons hope is like poison. They can't exist in a world with even the slightest possibility of their defeat. I can't pretend to understand why this is, but it is true."

"That's really poetic and all, but I'm not getting the point." Nina said, crossing her arms as they entered the forest.

"The point is that you can defeat Lilith, her father, and their forces. You all have a long journey ahead of you… and you'll need some tools."

From there Rush was silent, and it wasn't long before they came to a small pond at the base of the mountain, a waterfall pouring down into it from the melting ice and snow above. "Wait here." He said before stepping into the water, moving forward until he was completely submerged. After a few minutes the group became worried, thinking he may have drown, but after several minutes more he emerged carrying a bulging bag.

"Where were you?" Hikari asked.

"I hide all of the Shen Gong Wu I managed to salvage in an under water cave… an ideal hiding place when one doesn't require oxygen."

"Really?" Hunter asked.

"I'm just a suit, kid. No body in here." Rush said as he stepped back onto land, setting down the sack. "Now let's see here. Eight Shen Gong Wu to help you with your journey." First he pulled out a black and silver rug. "The Shroud of Shadows to keep you hidden." Next, a pair of chopsticks. "The Changing Chopsticks for tight situations." Then a very real looking heart. "The Heart of Jong for allied most unexpected." The severed tail of a reptile. "The Serpent's Tail for quick escapes." A telescope adorned with the shape of a bird. "The Eagle Scope to guide you." An ancient mirror. "The Reversing Mirror for any x-factor you might encounter." A horn in the shape of a rooster. "The Rooster's Crow for a distraction. And in case any ass kicking is in order…" and finally, he revealed a golden statue of a pig. "The Sleeping Boar."

"Yeah, that last one made my day." Peter said.

Rush ignored him. "Now listen carefully. I'm about to send you all out on the single most important task of your lives. There is something you can do to rid this world of the Oni, Lilith, and their influence. I'm not sure how, but I know someone who does. You will meet them at the Temple of Master Monk Guan. I will be able to transport you part of the way, but you'll have to travel by foot most of the way."

"And how are we supposed to get there?" Riku asked. "We don't even know where we are."

"Guan's Temple lies to the east." Rush explained. "It will take you several months on foot, nearly a year, but you can do it. Just follow the rising sun and turn your back to the setting sun."

"Well let's get going then!" Bonny declared, placing the eight Shen Gong Wu back in the sack and slinging it over her shoulder. "The sooner we can do this the better!"

"Hold on." Nina broke in. She took a few steps toward Rush. "Something's not right here… where's Jack?... and Mimi, Julia, and Elena? How do we know you're not in league with the Darklings and Lilith?... What are you up to, Rush? What's your game?"

Rush didn't answer right away, turning to look at his reflection in the pond. He took a good, hard look at himself before speaking. "I am sorry, but the Yin-Yang Bird was not fast enough to rescue Mimi, Julia, and Elena. They were captured and likely killed by the Darklings…" He paused, giving the children a moment to take in his words. "… And when I sent the bird back for Jack I lost contact with it. I have no idea what happened to them." He paused again and turned away from the reflection of his faceless mask. "As for my game, it's quite simple. I want to die again, but on my own terms… I want to be at peace, to be able to see Raven's sweet face again, but the only way I can do that is by knowing that I used me second chance for a good reason… not selfishly like the first time."

"Rush…" Nina said, now regretting that she had doubted him.

"It's all right. You had every reason to be cynical. Now I'm going to teleport you all as far as I can, but you'll have to hoof it from there."

"Yeah, we heard you the first time." Logan said. "Let's just do it already!"

Rush nodded and instructed the nine of them to stand in a line. Then, using his demonic powers, he made them disappear in a flash of darkness. But as the light returned to where they once stood, Nina remained there, her arms crossed but with a sly smile on her face. "I knew you were going to keep me here." She said. "So I ask again… What's your game?"

"I'm sorry, Nina, but I can't allow you to leave… You require protection." Rush said.

"Meaning?"

"The baby's life can not be risked."

~GUAN'S TEMPLE~

"I told you they wouldn't be here. What made you think they would?" Dark Kim said.

"Where else would they be?" Dark Saya asked as she, the other three Darklings, and Omi perused the ruins of the once proud temple. What had once been the magnificent courtyard had been completely demolished, the only remaining standing structures being a small portion of the main building and four statues… statues that had once been Guan, Chase, Hannibal, and Wuya. "This is where they made their final stand ten years ago. If for nothing else they might come here for the nostalgia."

"Yes, because nostalgia is definitely on their priority list." Dark Rai chuckled. "Right up there with reversing the apocalypse and turning us back into their parents."

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Dark Saya asked. "The Great Eye hasn't spotted them yet. While it is possible to hide from our master's pet, a group of more than four would make it nearly impossible. There are ten of them. Now there is nowhere on earth that the Great Eye can't see, so unless they're off world, which I doubt, they're in a place of some sort of importance… or very, very clever."

"And very, very tasty." Dark Clay said, drooling.

"Yes, they are dear." Dark Saya agreed, rubbing his arm. "Now, even if they're not here, it wouldn't hurt to set a trap or two, would it?" Neither Dark Rai nor Kim responded. "What say you, Omi?" But he did not reply either. He was gone, somewhere else in the temple. Dark Saya shook her head. "Always wandering off… Now let's get to work, you three."

Omi had wandered off into the remaining structure of the temple. Half a hallway and the meditation hall, that was all that still stood. Master Monk Guan's once beautiful inner sanctum was now only a shadow of its former self. The hearth at the center of the room had been shattered, the walls were cracked and the floor coated with dirt and sand, the roof seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Omi remembered this place well, but the memories of what had happened here, what he had done there, what he became there… they had faded. Though he knew he'd been there before hand, the only event that he remembered happening there was looking into his mother's face and, for the first time, knowing that he loved her… and he had to prove it.

"You disgust me."

Omi swung around and leapt into the air, bringing his leg into direct contact with Jack Spicer's face only for it to pass right through. As Omi landed behind him, Jack spoke again. "Don't bother trying to attack me, Omi. I'm just a hologram.

Omi glared as the false Jack as he stood. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"I know what you did Omi." Jack said. "Julia, Elena… Mimi. She was your wife… She was the mother of your sons… She was the love of your life, and you killed her! I am ashamed to say we were once friends!"

"The only friend I need is my mother!"

"Don't give me that bull!" Jack retorted. "You were the best of us, Omi! You were the best of us and look at what you've become! At least the others have an excuse. Rai, Kim, Clay, and Saya, they're all possessed by demons. But you… you're still in control. Your body is still yours and yet you follow them. Like a sad puppy with an abusive owner, you put your tail between your legs and do what you're told because you think, just maybe, you'll get some love in return. You—"

"My mother's word is law!" Omi broke in. "I must obey her… She loves me, so I must do what she says."

"Oh, please." Jack grumbled. "Don't you remember, Omi. Don't you remember the man who was more of a parent to you than that evil bitch ever was? He loved you, gave you a place to live when your foster parents died, gave you all the care you needed and then some, and yet you disobeyed him frequently… Look at yourself… Would Master Fung be proud?"

Then it all started coming back to him. "Master Fung…" he said softly as the kindly old face flashed through his head. It all came rushing back to him in a flood of chores, birthdays, training sessions, and other moments together. He could see everything, even his oldest memory of the old man. Omi had only been a year or two old at the time and had tripped, scraping his knee on the temple floor. Master Fung immediately came to his cries of pain, bandaged him up, and held him until he fell asleep. Omi dropped to his knees as more images filled his head, coming and going so fast that he thought his head might explode.

"That's good, Omi, remember!" Jack cheered, seeing that the tentacle tattoos all over Omi's body were fading as Master Fung resurfaced in his head. Soon the tattoos were no more than transparent shades on his skin, Omi was almost back!

But before the transformation was complete, a food crashed down on the device projecting Jack's hologram. Dark Saya then went over to her little brother into a tight hug. "Shhh, shhh, its okay, Omi." She whispered into his ear. "He's not here to lie to you anymore. Mistress Lilith loves you. The old man only wanted to oppress you… that's right, come back to us." An evil smirk appeared onto her face as the tattoos regained their solidity, confirming that Omi was theirs again. "All better?" she asked as she pulled away from him.

"Yes." Omi said in his monotone voice, nodding slowly.

"Good. Now let's go. Our work here is over."

Dark Saya grabbed Omi's hand and led him out of the meditation hall, and once outside she ordered Dark Clay to demolish it. He immediately went to work while Dark Saya conversed with Dark Rai and Dark Kim. "Jack Spicer has been here." She informed them. "He spoke to Omi directly… he can't be far."

"Forget about him." Dark Rai said. "Our priority is the children and the woman. We struck the Yin-Yang Bird when it retrieved Spicer, so it's unlikely that those two are with the other group."

"I suppose you're right." Dark Saya agreed. "Stick to our priorities… Come, dear"

Clay left only small sections of walls standing when he rejoined the others. The five took one last look at the four statues before they left. If the children did show up here, then they would be in for a very unpleasant surprise. Dark Kim waved at the Wuya statue as they disappeared in a flash of darkness… and as they left, the lifeless statue of Wuya produced a single tear.

* * *

(**A/N**) sorry for the short chapter, but I felt that that was an appropriate spot to end it. anyway, this is the last chapter of this story you guys are getting until I finish "Total Drama Dynamite" (which I plan on doing as quickly as possible without screwing up the last few chapters), as Im putting this back on hiatus. so I hope you all enjoyed your christmas present (and the late second part of it). For those of you who are interested, you can expect a new chapter of "Total Drama Hereos" out of me next.


	8. The Present: Subconscious

(**A/N**) sorry it took so long for me to update. After I finished TDD I decided to take a break until after me graduation. that was a couple weeks ago and I wish I couldve updated sooner, but my dog was sick and I was so preoccupied with him that I couldnt really consentrate on my writing. We ended up having to put him down and I burried him myself. anyway, I distracted myself by finishing this chapter today (and listening to the same song in a continuous look for hours on end. Fallen Angels by Black Veil Brides. great song). So Id like to dedicate this chapter to my dog, Rocky. Rest in peace Rocky Dog.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Present: Subconscious

A few days had passed since the monks and their friends had taken refuge at Master Monk Guan's temple, and for the time being all had remained peaceful. Lilith and her forced had remained quiet and Wuya had yet to show her face again since her encounter with Guan. Still, while the eleven youngsters and their dragon had taken this opportunity to relax, they were very much on edge. Besides the usual ways of relieving stress and distracting themselves, the group had taken to getting to know Ino and helping her know them. Omi and Guan had started training Ino in martial arts, and found that she was a very quick learner. She was already twice as far in her training that Rai, Clay, and Kim had been within three days of their training. Everyone else had started teaching her a few tricks of the trade in the fighting evil business, including but not limited to: always watch for suspicious behavior in friends, never trust a smiling stranger, and the enemy of your enemy is still your enemy.

What very few had noticed, however, was that Ino had become particularly close to Clay. She was still very much grieving over the loss of her mother and, to a lesser degree, her so called father. At first she'd been completely inconsolable. Clay, being the nice guy that he was, was there when she needed a shoulder to cry on. By the second day he was the only person that was able to make her smile and even laugh. He wasn't coming onto Ino, and she knew this having seen how very much in love he and Saya were. Unfortunately, her emotions and common sense didn't seem to be connecting as she quickly developed a crush on the Texan. Luckily she had enough sense to control her self, only going as far as some very, very casual flirting while they were together. The last thing she wanted right now was drama.

_Why not take him for yourself?_ The voice in her head questioned. _A true warrior takes what they can and gives nothing back; and with me as your guide the Dragon of Lightning would be no threat to you._

She ignored the voice. It had spoken to her a few times since her Showdown with Rai, Chase, and Dark Rai but she always ignored it. It had been a huge help during the challenge, but now it was trying to turn her into something she didn't want to be. As much as she wanted what the voice offered, she couldn't give into it… at least not now, and not for this.

"You okay, Ino?" Clay asked as he approached her.

She jumped a bit against the tree she was sitting against as she heard his voice, so deep in thought that he'd startled her. "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking about my mom." She lied.

Clay sat down next to her. "C'mon. Let it all out. Ain't healthy to keep that stuff bottled up, you know."

Ino mentally scolded herself over and over again in her head as she made retold him how great her mother was. _He's not single, he's not single, he's not single, he's not single…_

On the other side of the court yard, Elena and Saya sat a picnic table, sipping tea and watching Clay and Ino from afar. "So you're completely okay with all of this?" Elena asked her friend. "You're not worried at all that she's going to pull a move on Clay or that he might respond to her advances?"

"Of course not." Saya said. "I know Clay would never betray me like that. And as for Ino trying anything, well… if she did, Clay wouldn't let anything happen. There's no doubt in my mind that Clay is completely faithful to me."

Elena shrugged and sipped her tea. "I guess." She agreed. "All I'm saying is that I'd be a little touchy if it were Julia she was trying to flirt up. Then again, I'm a bit of the jealous type."

"Well clearly Julia isn't." Saya said. "All of the girls and guys I've caught you taking quick glimpses at, either Julia hasn't noticed or she trusts you enough that she doesn't worry."

"She has nothing to…" she paused, thinking about what Saya had said. "Wait a minute, what do you mean girls **and guys**?"

"Don't try to deny it." Saya chuckled. "I've seen the way your eyes linger a little on Rai and Clay when we all hit the beach. You may only have eyes for Julia when it comes to girls, but clearly boys do something for you too. It's obvious to me that you swing both ways."

Elena stood up and glared at her blond friend. "You've got some nerve, thinking you know that I like better than I do. The only way I swing is Julia's way. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

"Hey, Elena. Saya. What's going on?"

Elena looked to her girlfriend as Julia approached them. "Oh, hey Baby." Elena greeted her, pulling Julia into a kiss in plain view for Saya to see. The blond girl just chuckled and shook her head. "We're just talking about something that Saya clearly had no clue about. C'mon. Let's go get something to eat. Bye, Saya." The two girls walked away, arm in arm, but Elena took a quick look back over her shoulder. Saya just sat there drinking, not making eye contact with her.

"Maybe I stepped over the line a little." Saya said under her breath once Julia and Elena were out of earshot.

Before Julia and Elena had made it even half way to the kitchens, Dojo came flying outside in a panic. "Get everyone out here now! We've got a problem!" he shouted.

Once everyone was gathered outside, Dojo took his usual seat atop of Clay's hat and began to explain the situation. "Okay, so the Key of Anubis went and decided to become active just a minute ago. Lilith and her cronies could be here any second to try to take it. We've got to think of a way to at least stall them so that we can move the key when they get here."

"Agreed." Guan said. "In the meantime, I think it would be wise to hide the Key of Anubis in a more secure location. The vault is good enough in most cases, but the Key of Anubis requires extra care. Clay, I want you to see to the Key's security."

"But what place could be more secure than the vault?" Omi asked.

"I have an idea." Elena said. "You guys remember how there was that hidden garden beneath the vault at our temple, right? Do you think there's something like that here, Guan?"

"Indeed." Guan agreed. "But like yours it was sealed off long ago. Elena, go with Clay and try to get into it. The rest of you stay here and help me prepare the defenses."

As ordered, Clay and Elena split off from the rest of the group and headed for the vault. At the bottom Elena grabbed the Key of Anubis from its drawer and they began searching for the hidden entrance to the chamber they sought. When Omi and Mimi had found the one at their temple they had stumbled upon it by sheer luck, but finding it on purpose was proving to be much more difficult. After an hour and a half, Clay had resorted to hitting the wall in random spots with the Fist of Tebigong, hoping that it would just crumble away. It wasn't working, and Clay's temper was getting the better of him. "Dagnabit! Omi literally fell backwards into this thing but I can't find it when I'm looking for it!"

"Maybe if you said please." Elena suggested jokingly.

"Please!" Clay shouted as he punched the wall with the gauntlet once again. The wall didn't just fall apart, it shattered and its parts went flying. One of the bricks shot straight at Elena and she was barely quick enough to move out of the way, but she lost her grip on the Key of Anubis and it dropped to the floor. Light erupted from the ancient weapon, blinding the two teens. "Damn! It activated." Elena said once the light had faded, bending over to pick it up.

"Any idea what its secondary ability is?" Clay asked.

"No, but it doesn't seem to have done anything to us. We'd better go…" she stopped as she looked up to Clay. A strange but pleasant feeling filled her stomach as she silently gawked at him and she went red in the face. What was going on, she had no idea. She hadn't felt like this since she and Julia had first kissed. Could it be that she suddenly found Clay… attractive?

"Elena?" Clay asked, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "You there?"

"Y-yeah." Elena said, snapping out of her trance. "Let's hide this thing and go find Dojo. See if he knows what it does."

The inside of the cave they'd found was very different from the paradise that had been hidden under their temple, but beautiful nonetheless. There were plants, birds, and insects all the same, but the sky here was clearly the roof of a cave, and the light came from crystalline structures that jutted from the walls. They spent a few minutes inside there before picking a hiding spot and heading back up to find Dojo. Along the way Clay saw Ino working with Guan and Jack to set up some kind of magic security system. She spotted him and waved. When they made eye contact Clay went red in the face, getting the same feeling in the pit of his stomach that Elena had only minutes earlier. _Oh crap_.

"Dojo! There you are." Elena called as she and Clay finally spotted the serpent.

"What's up, guys?" Dojo asked as they approached him.

"We think that the Key of Anubis accidentally activated while we were hiding it. Do you know what its secondary power is?" Clay asked.

Dojo scratched his head for a second, trying to remember. "Well, if I remember correctly, Dashi said it takes subconscious thoughts or feelings in the target and brings them to the conscious mind, amplifying them to the point where they're a nuisance. It was supposed to distract his enemies during battle. Has anything like that happened to you guys?"

"Um…" Clay didn't know what to say, not wanting to Dojo what was going on. The dragon had a reputation for being a bit of a blabbermouth.

"Look! Asian go-go dancers having wardrobe malfunctions in a mud pit!" Elena shouted, pointing over Dojo's shoulder.

"Where?" Dojo demanded excitedly, turning to where she was pointing. When he realized that she was just trying to distract him, he turned back around only to find them both gone. "Sure. Get my hopes up. Jerks."

Clay and Elena had managed to slip out of sight while Dojo was looking the other way, hiding inside of the library of Guan's temple. "This is bad. This is very bad." Clay mumbled to himself.

"Why? What did the key do to you?" Elena asked.

"I suddenly… find Ino very… appealing." Clay groaned as he sat down. "Saya is going to kill me if I don't fix this. Since when do I even like Ino? I barely know her! I mean she's cute and all but—I'm going to stop myself right there before I say something stupid." He scratched the back of his head before looking up to Elena. "So what's your problem?"

"I suddenly find **you** very appealing."

"Me?" Clay questioned, blushing. "But I thought…"

"Yeah, so did I. But it's not just you." Elena explained. "Rai, Guan, and even Omi… not Jack for some reason… God, what am I going to do? I love Julia but with everything that is going through my head right now… I should've seen this coming. I never did have an interest in girls be—"

The sound of shattering came from the doorway. The two monks looked up to find Julia standing in the doorway, a broken tea pot, cups, and a tray at her feet and tears rolling down her cheeks. Without a word she ran off sobbing as she darted down the hall. "Jewel, wait!" Elena called as she got up and chased after her girlfriend. Saya entered the room just after they left.

"What's going on?" she asked as she sat down next to Clay. "Dojo said you two were acting weird so Julia and I figured we'd bring you some tea to calm you down."

"They… might be having some problems." He told her, figuring it wasn't his place to talk about it. He didn't say anything about what the Key of Anubis had done to him either. He had no intention for Saya to find out about this before he figured out a solution.

~THAT NIGHT~

Omi couldn't move. He couldn't even open his eyes. He only felt something strange pushing all around him. Not squeezing or crushing, but whatever enveloped him was literally pushing him out as if trying to expel him. Soon he felt cold air on the top of his head, followed by gentle hands. Then his head felt free but he still could not see. He heard the pained cries of a woman along with the encouraging words of a man. "You're doing great, honey." He said. "Not much more now." Then Omi came to a realization.

_I am being born?_

He tried to speak, but the only sounds he could make were the cries of an infant. He continued to wail for some time until he was fully born and whoever had assisted in the birth handed him to the arms of his mother. "My baby." She said in a sweet, caring voice. He stopped crying and suddenly found the strength to open his eyes. Slowly, he moved his eyelids up expecting to see the smiling faces of his parents. But all he saw was a monster. His mother's face had transformed into something hideous. Gnashing, dagger like fangs filled her mouth; evil, blood red eyes gazed down at him; her hair had become a tangled mass of serpents; and her skin became decayed like a corpse. Laughing monstrously, she opened her mouth wide and brought him closer, ready to sink her fangs into his newborn flesh.

Omi awoke in a sweat, sitting bolt upright and startling Mimi who lay in the bed next to him. "Omi? What's wrong?" She asked as she brought him close and he buried his face in her shirt, still terrified. "Was it that dream again?" he nodded. "You've been having that dream for days now, Shorty. You need to talk to someone… why won't you tell me what it's about?"

Omi shook his head as he threw the covers aside and stood up. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to relive it…" he said. "I am going to get some water."

Mimi waited until Omi was out of the room before lying back down and sighing sorrowfully. "Why won't you let me help, Omi?"

In the kitchen Omi grabbed a glass and filled it at the faucet. He downed it once and filled it again before turning around to find a woman he knew all too well sitting at the table behind him. "Wuya!" He dropped his glass and took a fighting stance, ready to take on the witch. "Reveal your intentions at once!"

"Calm down, kid. I'm not here to fight." Wuya said.

"As if I would believe that."

Wuya didn't respond to his statement. Instead she took their conversation in a different direction. "Has anyone ever told you how I became what I am today?" she asked the boy.

"I know enough." Omi said, never letting his guard down. "Pride gave you your powers when you became the Sin of Lust."

"You know the how well enough. But what about the why? Has anyone ever told you that part of the story?"

"Should I care?"

"Perhaps… As you know, Dashi and I were once very much in love… But he betrayed me…"

Wuya faded into her memory, remembering that day as if it were still fresh in her mind. She was running, crying, not looking where she was going. She didn't care about anything; she just wanted to get away. Get away from everything, especially him. She made her way through the village, pushing her way passed anyone who crossed her path and even knocking one man to the ground. She soon found herself in the jungle, walking along the path that led back to the village. She stopped eventually and hid herself behind a shrine, sobbing as if she would never stop. "Why, Dashi… why would you do this to me… After everything you did for me… after all we've been through… why?"

"A man plays games with your heart."

Wuya looked up and found a man standing before her. Tall and dark with bawd shoulders, wearing a helmet in the shape of an eagles head. "You have been hurt." He said, offering his hand to her. "You gave him your heart and he stomped on it." She took his hand and he helped her to her feet, wiping the tears from her cheeks as well. "I can help you, m'lady. I can help you get back at the man who broke your heart. Love failed you… perhaps Lust would suit you better." And with that they both disappeared in a burst of green flames.

And so began Wuya's career as the Sin of Lust and a Heylin witch.

By the time Wuya had finished her story Omi had dropped his guard. "What did he do?" the monk asked. "What did Dashi do that hurt you so much that you would become the Sin of Lust?"

Wuya remained silent, turning away from him as she let out a soft sob.

"Perhaps I should tell him."

They both turned to the doorway, finding the blindfolded woman they both dreaded standing there. "But before we do this I do have some business to attend to." Lilith continued as Dark Rai, Chase's reptilian body, Rush, and Hannibal all appeared around her. "Now where is the Key of Anubis?"


	9. The Future: Nine Months

(**A/N**) Sorry this took longer than expected to put up. Im going to be honest, I wanted to get it out sooner but... Arkham City came out XP. Great game, I was completely caught up in it, even after finishing the story. too many side missions. any way, heres the next chapter of A Tale of Two Times. hoe you like it.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Future: Nine Months

"Run! Find somewhere to hide!"

"Logan, we're in the middle of a barren wasteland!" Riley argued as they sprinted away from their rapidly approaching pursuer. "There's nowhere to hide!"

She was right. Unless they found a cave or something in the nearby mountain, there was no to mask them sight. The Great Eye was right on their tail, and if they didn't vanish fast they would have Omi and the Darklings on them in a matter of minutes. They couldn't afford that. It had only been a few weeks since they'd left Rush and Nina at the Ark. They couldn't even be a quarter of the way to Dashi's temple yet. They suspected that they were somewhere in what used to be Iran, perhaps coming close to where the border with Afghanistan was. If they were right, they still had a long way to go before coming across the remnants of China, and as vast as that country was finding Dashi's old temple would still be a challenge. And all of that was if their assumptions were actually correct.

"Argh!" Peter yelped, falling face first after stepping into a shallow ditch. The others continued onward, thinking he would get up quickly and dash after them. But when he didn't, Logan turned back to find his little brother struggling to get back to his feet, only to stumble back down with a groan.

"This is no time to screw around, Pete!" Logan snarled as he ran back to his sibling. "Get up!"

"I can't." Peter huffed. "My ankle… hurts."

Logan cursed under his breath, looking up to find the Great eye still approaching. Of all the things Peter could've done to screw around right now, he had to go and injure himself. "Keep Going!" Logan called to the others as he cradled the ten year old boy in his arms and lifted him up. "We'll catch up! Jeez you're heavy."

"Guys, over here!" Bonny called, standing near a large boulder at the base of the mountain. The others gathered around only to glare at her. "I think it's the entrance to a cave." Bonny exclaimed.

"Who cares?" Hikari growled. "A toddler couldn't fit through that crack, much less us!"

"We could use the Sleeping Boar to smash it open." Hunter suggested.

"That'll get the Great Eyes attention before we can even get inside." Sarah pointed out.

"Then how do you suggest we get inside?" Hunter snapped.

Without a word Riku dropped the sack of Shen Gong Wu and supplies that had been slung over his shoulder and dug around inside. "Everyone hold onto me." He ordered as he found what he was looking for, the Changing Chopsticks.

"Wait! What about Logan and Peter?" Riley exclaimed. Peter was really slowing his brother down. It didn't look like they would make it in time.

"You guys go ahead. Don't wait." Bonny said as she grabbed the Shroud of Shadows from the sack and ran off. Riku didn't hesitate and used the Changing Chopsticks to shrink the remaining five of them down small enough to fit inside the cave entrance. "Get down!" Bonny shouted as she approached the brothers. Logan quickly dropped to his knees as the girl wrapped the Shroud of Shadows around the three of them, rendering them completely invisible as the Great Eye approached. For twenty, long, grueling, antagonizing minutes, they waited as the Great Eye passed over, scanning the area. They barely dared to breathe until the colossal monster disappeared over the horizon, and when it did, Bonny, Logan, and Peter all sighed in relief and collapsed, Logan landing on top of his brothers injured ankle, causing him to yelp in pain.

After taking a punch in the arm from Peter, Logan sat up and pulled Bonny into a tight hug, kissing her on the cheek. "Girl, you're a life saver. We owe you one… actually, make that three." Bonny just blushed and giggled.

Logan, carrying Peter again, followed Bonny over to where the others waited, Riku having grown back to normal size so that he could shrink them down with him. "All right kid, you nearly got us killed." Logan said as he dropped his brother onto the cave floor, literally. "And if you didn't rip your Achilles tendon you **are** going to be dead. Now let's take a look at that ankle. Hikari?"

The brunet girl came over and lightly took her cousins ankle into her hands. He cringed. "Well, I guess I don't have to ask if it hurts." She examined it for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. "Looks like a minor sprain. A few days of rest and he should be ready to go again."

"A SPRAINED ANKLE? ARE FREAKING YOU KIDDING ME?" Logan snapped.

While Logan went on a berating rant over his little brother's "decision" to injure himself, the others sat against the cave walls, just watching and chuckling. "Now see, it's moments like this that make me certain that he cares about the little idiot." Sarah chuckled to Riku. "Speaking of which, Hunter hasn't done anything stupid today… he's overdue."

"Give the kid a break; I don't think he'll be pulling any of his usual shenanigans today." Riku said, pointing over to where Hunter and Riley were sitting. Hunter, apparently exhausted from their near encounter with the Great Eye, had fallen asleep, innocently laying his head on Riley's lap. She gently stroked the young boy's shoulder and hummed a song to help him relax. It was a song that her mothers used to sing to her when she was younger if she had woken up from a bad dream. She couldn't remember the words, but the tune was soothing and did help not only Hunter, but also herself settle down.

"That brat is faking, the little perv." Sarah chuckled.

"No he's not. Riley would've smacked him by now if he was." Riku pointed out.

Sarah shrugged. "I guess."

"Oh come on, Pete! You're already up and walking!" They heard Logan shout. "I swear, if you weren't my brother—"

"Calm down, Logan." Bonny scolded. "He's limping pretty badly Logan. I know you're pissed and all, but give the little guy a break. It's not like he did this on purpose."

Logan glared at her for a moment but took a deep breath and sighed before he did anything stupid. Bonny smiled at him and gave his arm a light squeeze. "Sorry, little bro. I guess I… got caught up in the moment and…"

"Yeah, whatever." Peter said, pretty much oblivious that his brother had previously been yelling at him. "We got any food?"

Riku chuckled and looked back over to Sarah. "You know, I think Logan has a thing for my sister."

Sarah gave him a questioning gaze, almost as if she wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly. "Logan? You think he like's Bonny?" Riku nodded. Sarah just chuckled. "Oh my god… you have no idea what you're talking about."

"What? He backed off the second she told him to. And you saw that kiss earlier."

"It's called being grateful, idiot." Sarah said, elbowing his side lightly. "Trust me, I know Logan better than anyone. She's not his type."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

Sarah chuckled again, then something crossed her mind. "But, unless my eyes deceive me, Bonny does have her eyes on him."

"Okay, now you're just messing with me."

"No, I'm serious. Just watch her. She's always trying to be close to him, the way she subtly grabs his arm, and how she's always looking after him. I mean, she didn't even hesitate to run out there with the Great Eye almost overhead and save him and Pete."

"Any of us would've done that." Riku said.

"True, but she didn't think twice about it."

Riku wanted to argue, but realized that he didn't really have anything to argue with."Okay… you **might** be right."

"You're damn right I'm right." Sarah said with a smirk. "Now, while you're admitting that I'm right, let me ask you something. Why are you over here talking to me when you should be flirting with Riley?"

Riku gawked at her disbelief. "How did you—"

"Remember who you're talking to, kid. Now spill."

Riku sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, so I like Riley." He admitted. 'But I'm keeping my distance because, let's be honest, we've got more important things to worry about. Plus… you know. I'm not her type."

"You're kidding me, right?" Sarah asked, cocking one eyebrow with an annoyed look. "You that she's gay just because her parents?... Okay, I'm not even going to apologize for this." Then, out of nowhere, she smacked him over the side of the head, hard. "Riku, your gay-dar is seriously malfunctioning. Now do yourself a favor; get over there and start hitting on her before I hurt you more."

He hesitated, but when Sarah raised the back of her hand to him he got up immediately, walking over to Riley. "Hey." He said, sitting next to her. She smiled back at him, still gently stroking Hunter's shoulder as he rested his head on her lap. Riku didn't know why he was nervous. He'd known this girl all his life. She was one of his best friends. It didn't take him long to realize that it wasn't just talking to her that he was nervous about, but how he wanted to talk to her, what he wanted to say. Just the idea was nerve-racking. He was just about to muster up the courage to say something else when Riley spoke up before him.

"You know, I heard you talking to Sarah." She said.

Riku's face flushed. "You… you did?"

"Every word." She confirmed. "So… you like me."

Riku scratched the back of his head and blushed. "You could say that."

Riley chuckled, thinking how shy he was being was cute. This was definitely a different side to the Riku she knew. She liked it. "Riku…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "Ugh. What are you doing, Riley? Look Riku, we've been best friends all our lives. I like you too, but I'm not sure if it goes any further than that."

"It does!" Sarah called from her spot closer to the entrance of the cave.

"Funny!" Riley called back. "You know what Riku, why don't we give this a shot. See where things go." She suggested.

"I can live with that." Riku said with a grin. "I can definitely live with that."

"Good. Now get over here. I'm cold." Riku smiled and slid closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she rested her head on his shoulder. As they dozed off together, Hunter woke and groggily sat up, stretching his arms and yawning. Upon seeing Riku and Riley snoozing together, he shook his head and sighed.

"Great, teen romance. Just what we needed right now." And with that he walked off, trying to think of a way to annoy his Bonny and his siblings and cousins.

~SEVERAL MONTHS LATER~

"I'm worried about them, Rush… it's been so long."

Nina and Rush stood at the edge of the Ark, looking out into the vast, dead wasteland beyond the abrupt end of the lush, green grass they stood on. Nina's hands rested on her belly, now heavy and swollen after nearly nine months of carrying her child. Rush remained unchanged, still only a hollow ninja garb. "Have faith in them, Nina." He told her. "It shouldn't be too much longer before they reach their destination."

"I know… I just wish I knew if they were even alive or not."

"As I said, Nina… have faith. Now come." Rushed turned and started toward the forest. "It is time."

"What are you—ugh!" Nina suddenly dropped to her knees, feeling some sort of pressure in the pit of her stomach. A contraction. "Oh. That's what you meant." She groaned as Rush helped her to her feet. "How did you know I was about to go into labor?"

"Let's just say I'm very observant." Rush explained. "Now let's go. The child will be better off being born away from the Great Eye's gaze."

~ELSEWHERE~

"There it is." Hikari announced. The eight young heroes looked down from a cliff, just outside of a cave on the side of a mountain. Down in the valley below was the destination they'd traveled so far to reach: the ruins of Master Monk Guan's temple. After nearly nine long, antagonizing months with more than one close encounter with the Great Eye and the Darklings, they had finally made it. "We finally found Guan's temple."

"Funny, that doesn't look like a city made of solid gold where chocolate coins and skin-mags are used as currency and all the women run around topless." Hunter joked. This earned him a smack on the back of the head from his oldest sister.

"You're thinking of heaven, man." Peter replied.

"So what do we do?" Riley asked.

"Set up camp in this cave for the night. We head down into the ruins first thing in the morning…" Logan instructed. "I'll take first watch. The rest of you get some sleep."

Late into the night, Logan sat at the entrance of their cave hide out, covered in the Shroud of Shadows from the neck down and ready to pull it over his head in case the Great Eye appeared. It has been a few hours since they'd made camp and had been dark for a few hours now. Logan had taken first watch. He looked down to the ruins of Guan's temple in the valley below. He remembered visiting in once when he was very young, probably right after Hikari had been born. Only a few years old but he could still remember the awe that the temple struck him with. It had been massive, grand, and magnificent. Thinking back, he realized that it wasn't much more than the temple that he had once called home, but there was something about it that he found more alluring. He remembered thinking that he wanted to go train with Master Monk Guan one day, and it filled him with disgust to look down at the temple now, remembering what it once was.

"Logan?"

He glanced over his shoulder, finding Bonny coming up to him with some bread. "I thought you might be hungry… and maybe you'd want to get some sleep. I'll take over watch duty if you want." She offered as she sat down next to him.

"I'm fine, you can go back to sleep." Logan said. "But some food would be nice."

Bonny shook her head as she handed him the bread. "Can't get back to sleep. I'm rested enough. I'll stay out here with you."

Logan nodded, sinking his teeth into his food. "Here." He said, opening up the Shroud of Shadows for her after swallowing. "Just in case." Bonny smiled and slid over to him, allowing him to wrap the shroud around her shoulders. Logan went back to eating and silently watching the temple. Bonny felt nervous about being this close to him, stealing quick glances but looking away and blushing if she thought he noticed. She looked over her shoulder to check up on the others, all still asleep. Peter and Hunter were sprawled out on top of each other, have wrestled each other into exhaustion. Sarah and Hikari had fallen asleep sitting against the cave wall next to each other, Hikari resting her head on her older sister's shoulder. And then there was her brother and Riley, more than comfortable sharing body heat during the night after over several months of slowly building romance. Upon realizing that she was watching her brother and his girlfriend spoon, Bonny quickly turned away.

"See something you didn't like?" Logan asked nonchalantly.

"Just put a bad taste in my mouth." Bonny replied. "I mean, it would be cute if it weren't my brother."

"You're jealous of them." Logan said, his mouth full of his last bite of bread.

"What?"

"You want what they have. Someone to be close to, to share everything with, blah blah blah. I don't blame you, I would want that too… you know, if I weren't an emotionally unavailable bad boy with daddy issues."

Bonny chuckled at this. "I… I guess you're right." She said, looking up at him. Then a thought crossed her mind. Did he just…? Was he…? It almost sounded like he was. Feeling bold, Bonny placed her hand on Logan's upper arm, but he immediately pulled away.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Bonny apologized, retracting her arm. "I thought…"

"That I was flirting with you?" Logan finished for her. "Bonny… what part of emotionally unavailable bad boy with daddy issues don't you get? I'm not looking for anything like that, I'm sorry… and even if I was… you're not exactly… my type."

Bonny realized what he meant immediately. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"How could you? I've never told anyone. Not exactly a reason to, considering what my options would be… besides, I've got other things to focus on."

"Daddy issues?" Bonny chuckled.

"Now you're getting it… Look, Bonny. I'm sorry I can't give you what you want. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here. Okay?"

Bonny smiled and nodded. Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they sat together under the Shroud of Shadows, looking down to the ruins of the temple and talking about whatever came to mind. For the first time in a very long time, Bonny felt like she had someone she could open up to, and for the first time in even longer, Logan felt genuine happiness, something he hadn't felt since the first time his eyes had looked upon Guan's temple.

* * *

(**A/N**) So yeah. Character developement. character developement everywhere. I realized somewhere along the long that I'd spent the first 3 chapters of the future storyline just setting up the plot and you hadn't really gotten to know the kids very much yet, so I decided to use this chapter exclusively for character developement... not much for Peter, Hunter, or Hikari though. Peter and Hunter are really just wild card comic relief, so I don't really see a reason to expand on them yet. But Hikari Im having trouble figuring out what to do with. Im almost regretting creating her now.

anyway, here are some updates on my other stories. TDH is definitely my next update, and the challenge next time will be based off a DC comics hero who Im sure you've all heard of but you don't think very highly of. I also plan on rewriting the last chapter of Undead Drama Mainland that I posted, and since TD: Revenge of the Island is finally going to air in January, I may actually be able to do that some time soon. as far as my other stories go, don't expect updates any time soon.

so yeah, let me know what you all think of this chapter... oh and if anyone didn't figure it out from what Logan meant by Bonny not being his type, look back to the conversation Riku and Sarah had about Riley. For those of you who did figure it out, good for you. please also note that this will probably be the only time that aspect of his character is brought up. I really want to focus on his quote-unquote daddy issues.


	10. The Present: Blood and Fire

**(A/N) WARNING: **this chapter is long. and I mean lllooooooooooooooooooonnggg. I like it though. anyway, sorry it took so long, yadda yadda yadda, etc. enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Present: Blood and Fire

"That's it, boys! The Key of Anubis is around here somewhere!" Lilith called from her perch atop the highest tower of Guan's temple. "Reduce this place to rubble! Find it! Find it for your mistress!" Down below, her minions were doing just that, knocking down walls and ripping rooms apart to find their prize. Suddenly the spire upon which Lilith sat began to topple, Hannibal having destroyed its support. The demoness remained in place, suspended in the air as the tower hit the ground with a thundering boom. "This is going to be a fun night." She chuckled.

Omi leapt at Chase's reptilian body only to be swatted away, slamming against the wall. The beast was not interested in combat, only in finding what his mistress desired. Wuya had disappeared when the commotion started. Whether she was being cowardly or going to face Lilith directly, Omi didn't care. He was only interested in protecting the temple and the Key of Anubis. Omi dashed after Chase again, only to be smacked away by his tail. He snarled at the short boy and growled two words, "Later… morsel," before disappearing into the dark corridor.

Elsewhere, Dark Rai moved along a hallway, his raven black wings spread menacingly and the edge of his onyx blade dragging across the stone floor. Like his companions, he searched for Lilith's prize, but he sensed his secondary target nearby. The Shoku Warrior. Oh what the dark angel wouldn't give to have his own prize then and there, to be whole and in control. But he needed what waits beyond to gate to claim what was rightfully his, and for that he needed to help Lilith collect the keys. "I know you're there, Raimundo. And your mate as well. I can taste your fear… and it tastes sweet. It was this same fear for her life that led you to take the Seal of Thanatos, and use it to defeat the Sin Dragon… it was that same fear that spawned me, that very same day. I want you to know, boy, that whether we come to blows this night or not… When our final encounter comes, I will be victorious and I shall take what is rightfully mine. We shall be one again… but only I will live to enjoy it."

"This guy is weird." Rai whispered from behind the wall, Dark Rai standing only feet away on the other side.

"Well, what did you expect? He's you, apparently." Kim quipped.

"Yeah, I still don't get that."

"Let's just chalk it up to comic-book level bullshit." Kim suggested

"Deal. Now how—" he yelped mid sentence as an onyx blade with glowing, neon green etchings stabbed through the wall only inches in front of his face. He and Kim fell back onto the floor as the blade slid up along the wall, cutting a long, thick gash. When the blade withdrew, Dark Rai peered at them through the gap and laughed. "Here's Johnny!" The whole wall collapsed as Dark Rai thrust his foot through it. Rai and Kim charging in for the attack before the dust had even cleared. Dark Rai snorted in amusement before grabbing Kim by the ankle and swinging around, using her like a bat to smack Rai into the opposite wall. As Rai fell to the floor, his evil counterpart held Kim up by her ankle and looked her over lustfully. "Mm… the things I will do with you once I'm whole again."

"In your dreams, scumbag!" Kim snarled, unleashing a torrent of flames from her throat and into his face. His grip on her ankle never loosened, and as the flames cleared he only laughed.

"Oh, you are just delightful." Dark Rai cackled.

In another part of the temple, Clay stomped his foot onto the stone floor, causing a massive chunk of rock and earth to come flying up. He thrust both hands forward, sending the boulder rocketing forward towards his enemy, Hannibal Roy Bean. The suit of armor raised its arm and smacked the boulder into the wall beside him, laughing darkly. "Boy, you might as well get up out of my way. Mistress Lilith has made me more powerful than ever!"

Clay stood his ground, breathing heavily. "That may be so, Bean-Boy… But you keep forgetting one thing… Inside that suit of armor, you're still just a pint sized legume."

Saya came flying out of nowhere, maneuvering around Clay at lightning speed, leaping forward, and kicking the helmet right off of Hannibal's armor body. She then aimed her left arm, wearing the Emerald Gauntlet, directly where the helmet, where the bean now visibly sat. She called out the Shen Gong Wu's name, unleashing a powerful beam of emerald colored energy directly at Hannibal. When the beam dissipated, she lowered her arm and waited for something to happen. After a short time, Hannibal started to laugh again.

He was untouched.

"Just a pint sized legume, am I?" he chuckled. "Hows about I show you just what this pint sized legume can do!"

Before she even realized that Hannibal's fist had collided with her chest, Saya was sent flying backward. Without a second thought, Clay caught her in his arms, but when he looked back up to Hannibal he found the suit of armor's foot slamming against his chin. Saya fell from his arms as they were both thrust back further. As they landed, Clay immediately got to his knees and slammed his fists against the floor, a wall of rock shooting up from the ground, blocking the path between him and Hannibal. "You're all right, Saya?" he asked.

Saya choked as she pushed herself to her knees. "Just… winded." She gasped. "I'll be okay."

"I highly doubt that." Came Hannibal's voice from the other side of the barrier. Clay and Saya shielded their eyes as rock and dust was strewn through the air, the wall collapsing as Hannibal thrust his open palms through it. "Boy, you are some kind of stupid if you think a wall is going to keep me from getting to you." The bean laughed, cracking his suits knuckles. "Now then… ready for round two?"

Jack, Nina, and Ino found themselves surrounded by the Darklings, the shadowy doppelgangers of themselves and their friends, and Chase. Knowing she still wasn't too adept at fighting, Jack and Nina stood in front of Ino to guard the girl, Jack having configured his robotic arm into an energy blasting cannon. Chase grinned at them through his fang lined muzzle before roaring, sending the Darklings in for the attack. Jack began to blast away at their attackers, mowing down the Darklings one by one only for them to respawn further back and come at them again. Anything that managed to get passed Jack was swiftly taken care of by Nina, striking at them with swift and precise kicks and punches. Ino helped as best as she could, using what martial arts she had learned to lighten Nina's load while also having the Thorn of Thunderbolts on hand in case she needed it. All the while Chase just stood at the rear and watched, seeming to be waiting for the right moment to join in the conflict.

Eventually the Darlings managed to split up the trio, one group driving Jack off to one side of the room while another kept Nina to the other side, and two or three continued to go after Ino in the center. Ino used the Thorn of Thunderbolts to take out her own darkling, but as it vanished before her she was tackled to the ground, a pair of fang lined jaws filling her field of vision. Chase had finally chosen his time to strike, pinning her to the ground. He gazed at her with the eyes of a hungry beast, droplets of drool dripping onto her face. She struggled against the vice-like grips he had on her arms, feeling his claws dig into her flesh, but to no avail. She panicked as Chase reared his head, getting ready to lash out at her exposed neck.

_Useless girl! Do I have to do everything myself?_

Ino felt her control over herself slip away. Just as Chase was about to strike, her head was thrust at him, smashing her forehead against his muzzle. Chase yelped and clutched at his nose with one hand. This allowed to Ino to strike him in the temple before grabbing the Thorn of Thunderbolts from the floor and blasting him with it, sending him flying through the wall. Chase pushed himself back to his feet as she came at him again, spinning around to swat her away with his tail, but she grabbed onto his tail and used the momentum to swing around to his other side and slam her feet into his jaw. Chase stumbled away, clutching at his cheek as Ino landed on her feet and waited for him to attack again. He waited for a few seconds before roaring again and running away on all fours. Once he was gone Ino felt herself regain control and she fell to her knees

_You are trying my patience, Ino. If you don't start taking control, I won't be giving it back next time._

"Who are you?" Ino growled

"You're destiny."

"Ino? Are you all right?"

The girl looked up to find Nina kneeling next to her, Jack standing by making sure they weren't attacked. The Darklings had decided to retreat with Chase apparently. "Yeah, I… I'm fine." She replied.

"You really showed Chase whose boss." Jack stated. "Didn't know you could fight like that."

"That makes two of us." Ino replied under her breath.

Mimi, Julia, and Elena waited in the Hall of the Shen Gong Wu with Guan and several of the other monks that resided in the temple. The heard footsteps coming closer as a single one of Lilith's warriors came near. The lone warrior soon rounded the corner, a man dressed in Ninja garbs. He had no weapons drawn and paused only for a second as he saw the small force guarding the vault, but just as quickly as he stopped, he began advancing again, casually walking forward.

Julia made the move. Clasping the Emerald Gauntlet onto her arm, she called out its name and fired a massive beam of green energy directly at Lilith's minion. With astounding ease, Rush leapt up and flipped through the air over the beam, landing a forceful kick on Julia's jaw, knocking her into the wall. While Mimi, Guan, and the other monks went after him, Elena ran to Julia's side. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Don't touch me!" Julia snarled, sending a death glare at the other girl before running to join the fight. Elena just sat there, dumbfounded. Was Julia really that mad over what she'd heard? She wasn't even sure if she understood it herself. She didn't have time to think over it too much, as a monk was flung into the wall next to her. She helped him to his feet before rejoining the battle.

Rush grabbed an attacking monk from midair and threw him off to the side just as Guan came at him with his spear. Rush outstretch his open hand at the spear, allowing the blade to stab into his palm and emerge out the back of his hand. Guan was shocked that the warrior showed no pain, and that there was no blood on the blade. "What are you?" Guan asked in astonishment.

"The same thing you're about to be… dead!"

The blade still piercing his hand, Rush tore the spear from Guan's hands and hit his stomach with the blunt end. He slashed the blade across Guan's chest a few times, cutting deeply, before sweeping his leg under the monk's legs and then smashing the blunt end of the spear into Guans face. Guan hit the ground hard and, while he was still conscious, he was out of the fight for now. Mimi, wielding the Silk Spitter, and five of the temples resident monks came at him next. Using Guan's spear, Rush managed to capture and redirect each shot from the Silk Spitter, sending them at each of his attackers and sticking them firmly to the wall with the webs.

Only the three girls remained to stand against Rush, Julia wielding the Emerald Gauntlet, Elena with the Ruby of Ramses, and Mimi having swapped out the Silk Spitter for the Eye of Dashi. Rush moved to make an attack, but Elena caught him with the Ruby of Ramses, lifting him up and pinning him against the wall. While he was immobile, Julia and Mimi used their two Wu in a combined attack, blasting him with a powerful burst of green and yellow energy, causing the wall to crumble and a cloud of dust to rise. When the dust cleared, the found that him lying on the ground motionless.

"Looks like we're done here." Mimi said. "I'll help Guan. You guys start helping the other monks down from the walls.

The two girls did as instructed, and began to rip the Silk Spitter's webbing away from the monks underneath. Before even one was freed, however, Julia suddenly found the blade of Guan's spear stuck into the wall next to her head. She swung around to find that Rush was on his feet again with the Silk Spitter in hand, Mimi was laying on the ground unconscious, and Elena was webbed to the wall. She hesitated only for a second before going to aim the Emerald Gauntlet at him, but that split second gave him enough time to aim and fire the Silk Spitter at her, pinning her against the wall as well.

Rush sighed. All distractions were now out of the way, so he could finally do what he had come there to do in the first place. He descended the stairs into the vault to claim his prize. But only a few steps down, he leapt back up into the main hall as a massive green serpent came flying up out of the vault. Fire pouring from his jaws, Dojo rose up and encircled Lilith's minion, clamping down onto him like a python. Rush did not panic as his body was constricted and Dojo glared down to him, appearing menacing with dripping fangs and smoke billowing from his nostrils.

Rush was unimpressed

"Really? You're the last line of defense, Dojo?" Rush questioned, almost laughing. "This is… underwhelming."

The Dragon didn't respond. Instead he inhaled, preparing to unleash a torrent of flames upon the spirit in ninja garbs. Rush had to give Dojo points for putting on a good show, but he knew all too well how this was going to end.

Lilith was perched atop a different tower of the temple, watching as her minions tore everything apart in search of the Key of Anubis. The Darklings were running amok all over the temple While Hannibal, Chase, Dark Rai, and Rush took on the monks and made their way to the Shen Gong Wu vault. "Beautiful, isn't it? All the chaos and destruction. I would think you of all people would appreciate this, Wuya."

Wuya appeared in a burst of green flames atop another nearby tower. She stood there in silence, glaring intently at the demonic woman. "Why do I hate you so much?" she finally asked.

"Oh, you don't remember?"

"I remember plenty… I know what you did… but that's not it. There's something more. Something I've forgotten."

Lilith grinned. "Give me the Key of Anubis and maybe I'll tell you."

"Or I could beat it out of you." Wuya suggested.

Lilith shrugged. "Whatever suits you."

Her fists engulfed in flames, Wuya mad the first move, leaping from her tower to Lilith's. the demoness vanished as the witch came in close, Wuya's knuckles striking stone, causing it to crumble away down to the courtyard below. Lilith reappeared behind her, her foot impacting against Wuya's back as she spun through the air. Caught off guard, Wuya collapsed and began to fall, plummeting down the side of the tower. When she saw that Lilith had moved again, now waiting for her at the bottom of the tower, she summoned her green flames again and curled up into a ball, beginning to spin rapidly until she formed a fireball. Lilith easily moved out of the way before her opponent hit the ground, creating a massive crater in the cobblestone, but she didn't expect Wuya to come rushing out of the flames almost instantly. Roaring, the witch slashed her fiery claws across Lilith's face, her knife-like nails leaving four deep, bloody gashes across her nose and cheeks.

The Demoness shrieked and stumbled back, clutching at her face with both hands. "You bitch… You're going to pay for that." She snarled as she lowered her hands, showing that her wounds had healed completely almost instantly.

Lilith flipped through the air, sending a barrage of punches at Wuya when she landed. The witch managed to dodge and sidestep each attack before finding an opening and attempting to deliver a kick to the demoness's side. Lilith blocked the attack with her forearm before grabbing onto Wuya's leg with both hands and swinging around, throwing the red headed woman into a nearby wall. Wuya fell from the wall and collapsed onto her hands and knees, taking a few seconds to catch her breath, but Lilith didn't give her much time. Wuya barely noticed as Lilith began her attack again, unleashing an onslaught of punches and kicks at the other woman. Taking her time, Wuya dodged each attack before rolling out of the line of fire and jumping back to her feet. She began to blast balls of green fire a Lilith, one after another without much falter. Lilith did not bother dodging the attacks, choosing to block them instead steadily walking forward as she swatted each fireball away. Finally fed up, Wuya summoned one massive fireball and launched it at the demonic woman. With a sinister grin, Lilith caught the ball of flames and threw it back at her. Wuya took the full force of the blow, sending her flying not into, but through several walls. By the time Wuya had stopped after skidding along the cobblestone, Lilith was already waiting for her there to continue her assault. She grabbed Wuya by the throat and tossed her into the air, striking her with a kick as she came back down and sending her flying. She teleported into Wuya's path and hit her with a powerful punch, sending her flying back in the other direction. She teleported once more, reappearing just above Wuya as she flew through the air and kicked her again, this time straight into the ground. Lilith landed gracefully on the ground, smirking as she admired her work. Wuya wasn't moving.

Lilith stood over the Heylin Witch in triumph. She grabbed the other woman by her hair and dragged her across the cobblestone to the courtyard fountain. She threw Wuya onto the edge, stepping one foot onto her back and holding her face just above the water. "Look at yourself." Lilith whispered. "Broken… beaten… I can see the hatred, the rage in your eyes. It's delicious, all of those negative emotions. But I can't help but sense some good left in you. Fifteen hundred years I've been trying to break you, but you just won't do it. I admire your conviction, Wuya, but it won't last much longer. Chase buckled to me, and so did Hannibal, and soon you will too. Just accept it."

"Mph… never." Wuya spat, droplets of blood splattering into the water.

"Oh, come now, dear. Just remember. Dashi betrayed you. Pride corrupted you. And me? I took the one thing from you that could have saved you from it all."

"And what might that be?" Wuya growled.

Lilith snickered as she lifted Wuya's head slightly, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "We'll save that for later." She said softly before slamming Wuya's forehead down against the side of the fountain. Lilith tossed the witch aside, letting her bruised, bloodied, barely conscious body crumble to the ground. "But don't worry. Later isn't too far away."

With Wuya taken care of, Rush appeared before Lilith and kneeled to her, offering the Key of Anubis to her. "Victory is ours, Mistress." He informed her. The Demoness was more than pleased and praised her minion as she went to take the key from him, but as she grabbed onto it two other hands did as well. Omi dropped down from nowhere and grabbed onto the key just as Lilith did, and at the same time, Wuya managed to push herself up from the ground and grab it as well. With four firm grips pulling it in different directions, the Key of Anubis began to shine with a golden aura.

"Not this again!" Lilith growled.

Omi and Wuya quickly nodded at each other before Omi began to speak. "Lilith, Wuya and I challenge you and your minion to a Xiaolin Showdown."

"Very well." Lilith growled. "Our Flask of Phantoms and Sword of the Storm against your Lotus Twister and Cannon Blaster. Name the challenge." Omi thought it over for a moment, but Wuya spoke before he could come up with an idea.

"A race." The witch gasped, still getting her bearings after Lilith's brutal beating. "First team to exit the fog wins."

Lilith grinned. "Very well."

"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" The Key of Anubis erupted in a blinding light as the stage was set for the showdown. The arena was simple enough: the two teams found themselves sitting in fan boats like one would find in a swamp (a white one for Omi and Wuya and a black on for Lilith and Rush). The boats rested in the middle of a lake that was covered in a fog so thick that the occupants of the boar couldn't see the front of the boat if they sat at the rear.

"You had to say fog, didn't you?" Omi growled.

"Let's just get this over with." Wuya replied.

"Gong Yi Tanpei!"

Immediately as the showdown started, Lilith and Rush went on the offensive. Lilith called upon the Flask of Phantoms to unleash its ghoulish inhabitant. The ghost shot out over the water to the other boat, grabbing onto Wuya and pulling her back with it. As soon as she was out of the way, Rush slashed the sword of the storm through the air, sending a wave of air rocketing at Omi's boat, crushing it into two halves. The monk barely had time to think as his boat began to sink and his opponents sped off. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the two Shen Gong Wu he had and used the Lotus Twister to tie his arm tightly around the Cannon Blaster. He then aimed the other Wu at the direction the sounds of the other boat and used it to launch himself through the air at high speed, bringing the Cannon Blaster along with him due to his arm.

Lilith and Rush were confident that they'd won as they raced off in a random direction, but as they sped along, they felt a jostling at the rear of the boat. Rush, at the controls, turned around to see what it was and his masked face was met with Omi's foot, who had stretched his leg from his perch atop the fan with the Lotus Twister. The monk leapt down from his perch and swung around, stretching out his other leg to strike Lilith in the ribs and knock the Flask of Phantoms from her hands. He quickly grabbed the crystal vile and unleashed his partner.

Wuya took a few seconds to get her bearings while Omi held off Lilith and Rush. Once she was able to stand, she grabbed the Flask of Phantoms from where Omi had dropped it and tossed into the water. Rush came at her with the Sword of the Storm, but she halted the attack by grabbing the blade in mid swing. It cut into her hand deeply, but she barely winced at the pain. She ripped the blade from the ninja's hand before unleashing an onslaught of kicks and green fireballs at him.

Omi wasn't having much luck in his battle against Lilith. He used the Lotus Twister creatively to try to gain the advantage, but she always seemed one step ahead of him. "Come on, boy! You'll have to do better than that." She taunted. "It seems as though your master did a poor job of training you." As she spoke, the Demoness sensed a sudden surge of darkness within the boy as he attacked again, this time in an angrier, direct way then his previously focused and strategic style.

"You will never speak of my master with your vile tongue again, Succubus!" Omi snarled as he came at her again. Lilith paid close attention to the boy each time he came at her, noticing the feint outlines of tentacle like tattoos slowly appearing on his skin. Curious, she decided to take things further.

"Ah, what's wrong?" she asked, grinning darkly as she caught Omi's outstretched fist before it could strike her face. "Did the old man leave you all alone in this world? Did he pass before he could teach you everything he knew? Figures he would abandon you… you weren't even good enough for him to name you Shoku Warrior."

Omi had had enough by this point. He yelled in rage and let the Lotus Twister drop to the floor of the boat. A dark aura engulfed the boy as the tattoos manifested fully on his flesh. Wuya and Rushed paused their fight to observe the spectacle, a shiver running up both of their spines (even if Rush didn't have one). Even Lilith felt a twinge of something as Omi revealed his power. Not fear, something else entirely. His power seemed… familiar. _Could it be?_ She asked herself mentally. Before she could find the answer, Omi screamed again, unleashing a pulse of dark energy from his body, knocking everyone else from the boat and into the water. Only Wuya resurfaced, and as she climbed back into the boat she found the boy lying there, unconscious, the dark aura and tattoos gone.

She kneeled next to Omi and looked him over quickly. What was that power? Where did it come from? Why did it manifest when Omi became enraged? She would have to find out later. For now there was still a showdown to win. She quickly aimed the Cannon Blaster in the direction the boat had been moving and then picked up Omi, resting the boy's chin against her shoulder as she held onto his back and under his legs. She used the Cannon Blaster to launch them both off the boat and, just before hitting the water, they burst through the wall of fog, finding a clear sky and bright sun hanging over them. Wuya closed her eyes as the light from the sun engulfed them, and when she could see again, she found herself, Omi, their opponents, and everyone else back in Guans temple. Lying at her feet were the five Shen Gong Wu that had been wagered.

"All right. The challenge is over." The witch said. "Now get lost."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Lilith said as her four minions and the Darklings came to her side. "But while you and some other two-bit villains might walk away after losing a child's game, I have no intention of leaving here without the Key of Anubis. Now you are going to hand over that Shen Gong Wu, and we are going to set this place ablaze and leave you all to die. Sound fun?"

"Not particularly." Rai said as he and the others joined Wuya. Guan had regained consciousness at some point and was carrying Mimi and Julia, both still unconscious, over his shoulders. Clay carried Elena in his arms, and the unconscious Dojo rested on his hat. They set the girls and the dragon down on the sidelines with Omi before joining Wuya, Rai, Kim, Saya, Jack, Nina, and Ino in their standoff against Lilith and her minions. "There's no way we are handing over this key. Just walk away and you won't get your butts handed to you."

Lilith chuckled, admiring his naïve confidence. "Keep them busy for me." She said to Dark Rai, patting him on the shoulder before vanishing in a purple haze.

"You heard the lady, boys and girls!" Dark Rai laughed, spreading his wings as fireballs appeared in both of his hands. He rose into the air as Rush, Hannibal, Chase, and the Darklings engaged the monks in combat. He threw the fireballs every which way, setting every structure of the temple left standing ablaze. He sat in the air admiring his work for a moment before dropping back down to join the fight.

~OMI'S MIND~

"Omi… wake up, Omi…"

The monk's eyes snapped open as the voice called out to him. He found himself in a dark void, floating in the seemingly endless abyss. "What is this place?" he asked himself. "Am I… dead?"

"No, Omi. You are very much alive."

Omi looked over his shoulder to find the one who was speaking. "Lilith!" he shouted, turning around and getting into a battle stance. "Prepare for a shameful defeat at the hands a Xiaolin Warrior."

"Calm yourself, boy." Lilith said calmly. "I am not here to fight you; I am here to show you."

Omi lowered his arms, curious. "Show me what?"

"The truth."

Omi suddenly found himself and Lilith standing atop the roof of a small cabin, just outside the outskirts of a small village in ancient China. He could see people going about their lives; merchants and workers doing business in the village, farmers working in the rice patty not far off. It seemed like a peaceful day… except for the sound of a woman howling like a banshee. "What is that?"

"Why I brought you here." Lilith said.

They jumped down from the roof and moved over to a nearby window. Omi jumped up onto a barrel to look inside and was amazed by what he saw. Inside was the woman he had heard screaming. She was facing away from him, so he couldn't see much, but her hair was blonde and her belly was greatly swollen. She was lying on her back, a few pillows propping her up and her legs spread wide, three other women tending to her as she switched between breathing heavily and screaming loudly. A man, whose face Omi couldn't see, kneeled next to her, holding her hand tightly. It didn't take long for Omi to figure out what was going on.

"She is giving birth." Omi said.

"I am giving birth." Lilith corrected him.

"That is you?" Omi questioned. "But…"

"There is so much of the story you do not know, young monk. So much you don't know, but deserve to."

Omi gave her a long, hard look, glancing back through the window briefly. "Why are you showing me this?" he asked her.

Before she could answer, they heard the pregnant woman inside give one last scream before a new sound took its place; a crying infant. "It's a boy." One of the nurses said. She wrapped the babe in a cloth after the cord was cut and handed him to the mother.

"This involves you just as much as it involves me, young monk." Lilith stated. "That newborn is you."

Omi gasped and stumbled back, falling off of the barrel and landing on his back. He propped himself up, looking at Lilith in horror. "But… but that would mean…"

"Yes… my son…"

~REALITY~

Guan and Wuya stood back to back, their teenage companions laying unconscious on the ground around them as Lilith's minions and the Darklings surrounded them. The temple had been all but completely engulfed in flames and was crumbling away bit by bit. The only thing keeping the battle going was the Key of Anubis, currently in Wuya's possession. Dark Rai was about to order another attack when Lilith suddenly reappeared, cradling Omi in her arms. "Omi!" Guan shouted.

"It's your choice." Lilith said. "Either we leave here with the Key or the boy."

"You'll get nothing!" Wuya snarled, her hands bursting into flames. She moved in for the attack, intending on ripping off Lilith's blindfold and clawing out her eyes, but Hannibal stepped in her way. He grabbed the witch by the throat, pulling the Key of Anubis before tossing her aside.

"I believe this is what we came for." Hannibal chuckled.

"Good. Now let's get out of here…" Lilith said. "But leave the Darklings to clean up." With that, Lilith disappeared in a purple haze, taking Hannibal, Chase, Rush, Dark Rai, and Omi with her but leaving the shadowy doppelgangers of the monks behind.

By the time Wuya had pushed herself back to her feet, they were already gone and Guan was already battling the Darklings. She cursed herself and them. "Guan, let's end this!"

"No, Wuya." Guan replied. "This battle has ended already. The only remaining questions are how long can we hold them off, and how many of us will survive."

"Guan, what are you saying?" Wuya questioned.

"Take the children… I'll hold them off."

"Guan, no! You won't make it out alive!"

"I've lived a long, full life. Much longer than most people would care to live. If I am to die today, then so be it. But these children… the world is depending on them. And with Dojo out of commission you are the only one who can get them all out of here quick enough."

"Guan I am not leaving you! Not after—"

"Your past is irrelevant Wuya!" Guan snapped. "Now do as I ask and get these children out of here!"

As much as she wanted to protest, Wuya knew he was right. "Keep them busy. This will take a few seconds." She crossed her legs, floating in the air as she began to gather her power; Guan moving like made to keep the Darklings away from her and the children. "I'm sorry, Guan." She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. Green flames engulfed her, spreading out over the courtyard and taking Rai and the others with her.

Guan was alone, surrounded by beings of pure darkness who were all ready to rip him apart. He knew he could fight them, at least for a while… but he was tired. Not just from the fight, but from fifteen hundred long years of life. He was an old man, even if he didn't look it. "Decisions, decisions." He mumbled to himself.

Then he was approached by one of the Darklings, a new one… a doppelganger of himself. Guan smirked. "This I will not stand for." He chuckled. So he gripped his spear, and raised it at his shadowy double.

And all the Darklings descended upon him.

* * *

**(A/N)** lots of action this chapter. perhaps too much. but whatever. Im going to leave Guans fate ambiguous for now, mostly because I havent decided whether he'll live or not. so stick around for more. my next update will definitely be the next episode of Total Drama Heroes. see you guys later.


	11. The Future: The Nexus

(**A/N**) sorry this chapter took so long. I meant to get it out more than 2 weeks ago, but things kept getting in the way, and when things werent in the way I just couldnt motivate myself to write. thats actually been a bit of a problem lately, lack of motivation. anyway, heres the new chapter, hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Future: The Nexus

Riku and Logan lay on the edge of their cliff, under the Shroud of Shadows, looking down to the ruins of Guan's temple with the Eagle Scope. The found nothing unusual other than the only standing structures that remained on the temple grounds: four states, one of Guan, one of Chase, and Hannibal's armor, and Wuya. If it weren't for the fact that everyone on earth had been turned to stone but them, they would've found the sight to be disturbing. Logan set down the eagle scope and turned to his friend. "Something seem off to you?"

"Yeah. Where's the guy we're supposed to be meeting here?" Riku pointed out. "Not like there are a lot of places to hide."

"You two are really dense, aren't you?" The two boys looked back over their shoulders to find Hikari standing behind them. She kicked the Shroud of Shadows aside and laid down on her stomach between the two boys, snatching the Eagle Scope from Logan before pulling the shroud back over them. "I mean this has to be obvious to someone besides me."

"Enlighten us, oh wise one." Riku said dryly, half annoyed by the girl.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Logan asked, less annoyed by his cousin.

"Let's put the pieces together. The only things down there are the statues. And what do we just happen to have with us?" she waited a moment for them to respond, but got nothing. "The Heart of Jong, you idiots!"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that thing." Riku chuckled.

"So what?" Logan asked.

"I'm going to hit you for being stupid." Hikari stated promptly, which she did before he had a chance to protest. "If those statues are the only things down there, then obviously we need to use the Heart of Jong on one of them… and if you guess which one incorrectly I'm going to hit you again."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it… its Guan right? Ow!"

"Well all right then! Let's go wake the old bastard up so we can save the world!" Riku said enthusiastically, throwing the Shroud of Shadows off of them and standing up. They gathered the other six before heading down to the temple ruins. They approached the stone reminders of their parent's greatest enemies (and one of their greatest allies) cautiously. The very image of Hannibal's armor sent chills down Bonny's spine. While the others hung back, Riku and Logan accompanied Hikari as they approached Guan's statue. The girl pulled out the Heart of Jong and whispered its name before slowly reaching out to place it inside of their old friend's stone chest.

But before she could, Gaun's stone hand reached out to catch her wrist in a vice like grip.

Shocked, she looked up to his face, frozen in an expression of horror from the day he had been trapped in stone. Before she could react any further she felt the other hand strike her stomach, sending her and the Heart flying back. While the others went to her aid, Logan and Riku were about to attack the statue of their friend, but before they could they were both grabbed by the shoulders and tossed aside by the statue of Hannibal's armor. As the two boys got back to their feet, Hannibal's statue slowly approached them while Guan, Chase, and Wuya surrounded their friends. Sarah helped her little sister back to her feet as the six of them circled up.

Logan and Riku slowly backed away as Hannibal approached them. They knew they couldn't take him on in hand to hand combat. They needed an ace in the hole. "I got an idea." Logan said.

"I know exactly what you're thinking you mad man." Riku replied. "Let's do it." Reaching behind their backs, they pulled out the two Shen Gong Wu they needed and called out their names. "Sleeping Boar!" Riku shouted, tossing the golden pig statue out in Hannibal's path.

"Rooster's Crow!" Logan yelled, using the megaphone's sonic scream to awaken the Sleeping Boar. The pig's eyes flashed red and in a flash of light it grew to a colossal size, springing to life. It roared, fire blazing from its nostrils, before charging at Hannibal madly. The statue stood its ground and, just as the Sleeping Boar was about to run it over, it grabbed onto the tusks, bringing it to an abrupt halt. The pig snarled and unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth, but Hannibal was unaffected by the attack and lifted the boar into the air by its tusks. Spinning around a few times, Hannibal threw the Sleeping Boar back at the two boys. They managed to jump out of the way of as it hurdled at them. Looking back over his shoulder, Logan saw the Shen Gong Wu shrink back down to its statue form, defeated. They were now terrified. This thing had just taken out the Sleeping Boar, one of the most dangerous Shen Gong Wu, without so much as flinching. How were they going to fare against it?

"Don't suppose we've got the Kazusu Atom, do we?" Riku questioned.

"We're not that lucky." Logan replied.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Hikari stood back to back, clutching the Reversing Mirror and Serpent's Tail for dear life, the other three statues surrounding them. Peter, Hunter, Bonny, and Riley had all been knocked unconscious already. "Our only hope is to work together, sis." Sarah said. "I've got an idea, but you have to trust me, Okay."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Just follow my lead." Then, using the Serpent's Tail, she sunk into the ground, abandoning her sister. Now feeling vulnerable, Hikari panicked as Wuya came flying at her with her leg extended for a kick. The girl used the reversing Mirror to deflect her and send her flying back, and as she landed on her feet, Sarah suddenly rose up from the ground, grabbed onto her, and pulled her down into the ground until she was only exposed from the ribcage up. Now stuck in the ground, Wuya was no longer a threat. Chase came after the older girl now, and she used her Shen Gong Wu's power to phase through every attack. Eventually she dropped down into the ground and Chase's fist hit the reversing mirror, Hikari having positioned herself behind her sister. He went flying back as well and, just like with Wuya, Sarah pulled and trapped him in the ground.

Now only Guan was left to face the two girls, and like Chase he went after Sarah. They used the same tactic to take him out, but Sarah didn't pull him into the ground like the others. "Hikari! Now!" Taking the opening, Hikari pulled the Shen Gong Wu she needed and called out its name. "Heart of Jong!" She leapt at the statue of Master Monk Guan, ready to thrust the brass heart into its chest. But just as she was about to strike, the statue pulled its legs back onto its chest and kicked forward, striking Hikari in the chest mid flight. While the statue landed gracefully back on its feet, Hikari, having had the wind knocked out of her, crashed into the ground, skidding and rolling along and losing her grip on the Heart of Jong. The Heart bounced along further away from her, eventually landing directly on the chest of the Wuya statue, still stuck in the ground.

And then, a blinding golden flash.

Before the light had faded, a speeding green blur burst from it, leaving twin trails of emerald flames in its wake. It headed straight for the Chase statue, which had freed itself from the ground and was towering over the unconscious bodies of Peter and Hunter, ready to rip them in half. The blur struck the Chase statue in the back, leaving a small crater with cracks spreading out from it, before darting away. Moving back just as quickly, it struck at the statues face, knocking the left eye and most of the cheek clean off. Unable to keep up with the blurs speed, the statue tried to defend itself in vein as the statue chipped away at it until, with one final blow to the chest, it crumbled apart, the dust and stones of its remnants hitting the ground.

Hannibal and Guan both went after it, forgetting about the kids. Sarah, being the only conscious member of the group left, watched the battle as she held her unconscious sister in her arms. Just as with Chase, the blur was too fast for either the Guan or Hannibal statues to keep up with. As the blur chipped away at its two foes, Sarah thought she spotted a few red flashes here and there. Soon the Guan statue suffered the same fate as Chase and shattered into dust and stone. Then it came to an almost instantaneous stop and took a very human figure made of green flames. The right arm threw at Hannibal's chest, lodging the fist inside of the stone armor, and then in an explosion of fire and rock, Hannibal was no more. Sarah covered her eyes as the heat and fire radiated out, and when she looked back, she gasped. The green flames had faded away, revealing the crimson locks and raven black dress of the dread Heylin witch, Wuya.

The witch dropped to her hands and knees and let out a gasp, desperate for air as if this were the first time she'd ever tasted it. She looked over to Sarah, watching her cradle her unconscious sister for a moment, before forcing herself back onto her wobbly legs. She staggered over to the girl before collapsing back to her knees in front of the girl. They looked each other over for a moment before the witch smiled. "You're Clay and Saya's oldest girl… and the other kids… still alive after all these years." And with that she closed her eyes and gently lay on her side. There was another flash of light, the Heart of Jong separating itself from her as she returned to her stone form.

~LATER~

Wuya groaned as she forced her eyes open. She could feel it again, the Heart of Jong pumping life energy into her. It was an odd feeling, being flesh and blood again after being trapped in cold stone for so many years. She liked it, but would still have to get used to it. She lifted her head off the ground, finding that she'd been moved from where she was when she fell asleep. She was in a cave now, lying by a fire, and surrounded by the children. "She's awake!" one of them said.

"Yes, I am. And I have a splitting headache, thank you very much." The witch grumbled as she sat up. There were a few moments of silence in which she looked over the kids carefully. How long has she been sleeping? Peter and Hunter had been infants when she last saw them, now they must have been at least ten years old. And all the other kids had aged just as much. Could it really have been that long? "So is anyone else left?"

"We're asking the questions here." Logan said sternly, standing up and walking over to her. "Why did you destroy Guan?"

"I was saving your miserable lives." Wuya spat. "You're welcome, by the way, you brat."

"We needed him alive!" he spat back.

Wuya just chuckled and shook her head. "No you didn't."

"Quit playing games. Rush sent us here to revive him so he could tell us how to save the world."

"He didn't' send you here for him. You're here for me."

Logan knelt down before her and his hand lurched out at her chest, the tips of his fingers phasing through to touch the Heart of Jong. "I could rip this out of you right now, and set the Sleeping Boar loose on that stone husk of yours." He threatened.

"Do that and you'll never save your precious mommy and daddy."

Logan forced his entire hand into her chest, gripping the Heart of Jong tightly in his palm, ready to rip it out of her. "**Never** mention my parents." He snarled. "Now if you have the information we need, talk!" He let go of the Shen Gong Wu and pulled his hand out of her. She clutched her own hand to her chest for a moment to catch her breath. Having the one thing keeping her alive manipulated like that was not pleasant.

"Have you wondered why the Oni hasn't unleashed his army upon the world yet?" she asked.

"Some BS about hope being poison to demons or something." Hunter said.

"Yeah, and so long as humanity still exists there's still hope or something stupid like that." Peter added.

Wuya nodded. "Stupid as that may sound, that is correct. The eight of you are the only remaining barrier between this world and complete annihilation. And of course once this world is out of the way his armies will spread out across the cosmos, destroying lift in every star system until finally the Oni destroys time, space, and existence as we know it."

"Get to the point!" Logan shouted.

She looked up to the boy again. "You know, Logan, you remind me a lot of your father… and the harpy he married."

She flinched as Logan came at her and forced his hand into her chest again, grabbing the Heart of Jong. "What did I tell you?" he growled.

"You have to find the nexus!" she suddenly spat out.

"What is the nexus?" Logan demanded, tightening his grip.

She glared up at him and bared her teeth. "Get your hand out of me and I'll tell you." He glared back at her for a moment before doing as he was told. She took a moment to catch her breath again before explaining. "The nexus is a living connection between our world and his, a literal crossbreed between humans and demons. With it, the Oni could have unlimited control over the two worlds and their inhabitance… He wants to use it to turn every human on earth, either alive or slain by his minions, into demons… including the lot of us."

Logan took a moment to consider this. "You said the nexus was a literal crossbreed between human and demon… so it's a person?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who it is?"

"I believe so… but you're not going to like the answer."

~ELSWHERE~

In a vast, rocky wasteland, somewhere on the dead rock that was once planet earth, Omi wandered along. Every step he took sent a sharp, stabbing pain through his bruised and bloody feet. After not finding the children and losing Jack at the temple nine months before, he went off on his own, away from the Darklings. He worked better alone anyway. The Darklings were too loud and aggressive, often jumping into unnecessary conflict… Especially Dark Clay. If Omi wanted any hope of pleasing his mother and finding what remained of humanity, he needed to be alone.

But he was not alone. Something was following him. At first he just ignored it, suspecting that it was the Great Eye. But while the eye was indeed flying overhead in the crimson clouds, it wasn't what Omi was wary of. Something else was following his path… something on the ground… something… someone familiar.

Omi stopped and looked back over his shoulder, finding two men standing a distance away, their appearance hidden behind the haze of the heat. They were no one he could recognize and appeared to be human… but there was something oddly familiar about them, and he soon realized why as they came closer.

"Hello, Omi."

"How ya doing, kiddo?"

"Kid, you need to start wearing some shoes. Your feet look like they're about to fall off."

Omi rubbed his sleeve against his eyes, trying to convince himself that this was a mirage and that, when he looked again, they would be gone. But they weren't. It was Master Fung, Dojo sitting on his shoulder, and Dashi standing next to him. There they were, plain as day and, as far as Omi could tell, very real. "N-no…" Omi stuttered. "You can't be real… You're all dead."

"We are as real as you wish us to be, young monk." Master Fun said. He then chuckled. "Listen to me, referring to you as if you were still a child. You have a wife and two children of your own now, don't you?"

"Oh no, you've got it all wrong old man." Dojo said snidely. "All he has, or at least cares about, is his so called mother."

"Cool it, Dojo." Dashi said, noticing Omi clench a fist at the dragons comment. "We're here to talk, not make him angry."

"Precisely." Fung agreed. "Omi, you and your friends have strayed greatly from the path I set you upon. Once long ago the five of you protected the world, and now you may well have caused its very end… Darkness has consumed Raimundo and the others, but not you, Omi. Clouded though your mind may be, it is still yours to control… Why, Omi? How could you do this to the world?… To your wife and children?... To me?"

"My… My mother… My—"

"Son, let me tell you something… she's not your mother." Dashi said, moving up to Omi and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't care if she actually gave birth to you or not, she didn't raise you. She wasn't there to pick you up when you fell, she wasn't the one who taught you everything you know, she wasn't there for you any of the times you saved the world, or when you married Mimi, or when Peter and Logan were born… I mean, come on! She had you murder your wife and now she's having you hunt down your own kids! What kind of mother is that?... But all those things she didn't do or wasn't there for, ask yourself Omi… who was there for you?"

"M… Master…" He looked around Dashi over to the man with the Dragon on his shoulder.

"He is your family, Omi. He raised you, trained you, sacrificed himself for you… Lilith is just manipulating you. Can't you see that? You're nothing but a puppet to her… and when she's done with you she's going to cut the strings and throw you into the fire."

Omi clutched his hands to his ears to shut out his words. "No! You lie!"

Dojo flew over from Fung's shoulder and landed between Omi and Dashi, grabbing the tattooed man by the front of his shirt. "Omi, we're not lying to you. We can't. We are figments of your imagination trying to get through your thick, bulbous skull, things you already know. Why aren't you listening?!"

"Perhaps he is." Fung suggested. Dashi and Dojo stepped aside and Fung walked up to them, kneeling in front of Omi. "Perhaps the noble but arrogant young boy we all knew is still in there, struggling to get out so he can right the wrongs he has committed. Perhaps one day, with the right guidance, the Omi we know and love will return." The old man stopped and smiled at him. "Conveniently just in time to save the day. Right, Omi?"

He didn't respond, and Fung's smile faded away. He stood and backed away to stand by Dashi and Dojo. A strong wind suddenly picked up, wiping up clouds of sand that the three began to vanish in. Omi reached out slowly to them. "No… please… don't leave me… not again."

"We will never leave you, Omi." Master Fung said. "So long as you do not give up on yourself, neither will we. We will always be there… to guide you through the darkness." And with that they disappeared into the blowing sand, leaving Omi with himself. He dropped to his knees and cried out, his pained screams echoing out through the wasteland. Tears streaming from his eyes, he looked down to his hands, the tattoos on his skin fluxing in and out of existence. Why was he being tortured like this? He didn't know what to believe anymore. Jack, these hallucinations, they were all telling him the same thing… that his life, his purpose, his very being, they were all lies… lies concocted by Lilith.

He looked up again as he heard something echoing in the distance… crying… from a baby. Through the blowing sand and the haze of the heat he could see something… a mountain surrounded by… life.

Laying on the soft grass, her back against a tree, Nina smiled, looking down at the blanket wrapped infant in her arms. She chuckled to herself. She'd known the little guy for all of two minutes and already she was in love with her son… Jack's son. She even loved the sound of his crying, which he hadn't stopped doing since the moment he was born. Rush seemed less enthusiastic about the crying, flinching every time the baby let out another wail. He sat next to the edge of the pond, still washing his hands after delivering Nina's baby. "Have you decided on a name yet?" he asked.

Nina shook her head. "I'm not even going to think about naming him… not until he meets his daddy… I want Jack to be a part of that."

"And what if Jack never comes back?" Rush questioned, turning to her. "There hasn't been a trace of him since you left the Yin-Yang World… You have to face it, Nina. There's a good chance that he's dead."

"Is there and doubt in your mind that the kids are still alive?" Nina asked him, glaring.

"Yes." Rush stated flatly.

Nina rolled her eyes. "Well until I see proof that my husband is dead, I'm not going to name my son without him… But if he is gone… I've already picked a name."

Rush would've smiled if he'd had a mouth at the time. Before he could say more, he sensed something approaching. He heard footsteps… Human footsteps, or at least something close to human. But that was impossible; the kids must've been half a world away by then, and nothing with a demonic presence could enter the oasis… unless…

"Nina, take the baby and hide. Now."

"Why? What's going on?" Nina asked as, still weak from her labor, she struggled to her feet.

"Something is coming this way… and if one of my two guesses is right, this could end either very badly or very well. Just go hide. I'll come find you when it is safe… Oh, and take this."

Rush tossed the Kuzusu Atom over to the woman who caught it in her free hand before wandering off on her weak, wobbly legs, holding onto trees to support herself well. Somehow she managed to get the baby to stop crying, so nothing would give away their hiding spot. Rush waited back by the pond, resuming washing his hands, not just to pass the time until the mysterious presence appeared. It didn't take long.

"I heard crying… Who else is here, Rush?"

Rush sighed. One of his guesses had been right, but not the one he'd hoped for. It was Omi, not Jack, who stood at the edge of the clearing. "It has been a long time, Omi. Still crazy?"

"Where is the child, Rush?" Omi demanded. "I won't ask again."

"Still crazy." Rush muttered to himself as he stood and wiped his wet hands on his pants before turning to the tattooed man. "You're not going anywhere near that child, Omi. I won't let you."

"Then I will find it myself… but first I will take care of you. Mother has wanted you dealt with for some time now."

Again, Rush would have grinned if he could have. "Has she now? I must've really pissed her off, betraying her and then making her search for me for… how long has it been? Ten years?"

"Indeed, Mother is most displease with you… But I intend to rectify her mood concerning you when I bring you and the child to her."

Rush shook his head. "Good luck with that." He said before charging, leaping through the air to strike Omi with a kick. The shorter man stood his ground, not moving an inch and looking Rush dead in the eye as he came nearer.

Elsewhere, Nina sat on the rotted inside of a large tree stump, softly singing to her baby to try to keep him from crying more. He was just about asleep, yawning every minute or so as he struggled to keep his little eyes open. It brought another smile to her face as she teared up. She knew Rush was out there, fighting to keep the two of them safe… But from what? It was not knowing that made her most nervous.

She heard something moving through the woods outside of the tree stump, making her flinch. Slowly, she stood, getting up just far enough to see over the rotted wood. It was Omi, facing away from her, probably searching for her and the baby as he dragged Rush's unconscious body by the leg of his pants. She quickly ducked back down, not realizing that she'd began trembling. She could still hear him coming closer. With no other choice, she came to a decision. She craned her neck down to his her baby's forehead. "I love you." She said softly before gently laying him down on a bed of moss. He started crying again the second he left her arms. Gripping the Kuzusu Atom tightly, she stepped out into the open. Rush was still unconscious on the ground, but Omi had disappeared. "Where are you?" she called out.

Suddenly he dropped down from the trees, a dark aura surrounding him. As soon as he landed he jumped up again, flipping and extending his left to send a wave of darkness shooting at her. Moving quickly, she easily dodged it before pointing the Kuzusu Atom at him and calling out its name. A beam of energy shot out from the Shen Gong Wu, engulfing everything in its path. When the light faded away, Omi was gone, as was every tree, rock, or anything else in the Atom's path. Nina sighed and lowered it, but kept a tight grip. She wasn't ready to lower her guard yet. There was no way it was going to be that easy.

Through the baby's cries, she heard a rustling behind her. She raised up the Kuzusu Atom as she swung around, but almost dropped it when she saw Omi holding her son. Too shocked to move, Omi was able to raise a hand at her, sending out a tendril of dark energy. It struck Nina just above the naval, piercing her belly, ripping through her organs and wrecking through her spine as it exited out the other side. She collapsed as the tendril retracted, blood spilling out of her wounds and her mouth.

Carrying the baby, Omi approached the woman, now lying on the ground, barely alive. She looked up to him and saw the image from her dreams: Omi standing over her, darkness surrounding him, and she heard laughing… but it wasn't coming from him. He bent over, reaching down to touch Nina's forehead. With her dying breath, she spoke. "I'm sorry, Jack." and then glare at Omi as her slowly turned to stone.

Once she was no more than a piece of rock, Omi moved away, back to Rush's still unconscious body. He grabbed the spirit trapped in ninja garbs and slung him over his shoulder. Then, with both of his captures, he began walking again, soon disappearing in a burst of flames.

* * *

(**A/N**) so yeah, that fight scene in the first part was short and uninspired, I know. It was honestly the last part I wrote and the part I had the most trouble writing. But otherwise I had a good time with this chapter, especially the second part with Omi, Rush, and Nina. anyway, Im thinking this story is about half over by now. according to my notes, I should only have 4 or 5 more chapters in the present part of the story, so that means the same amount for the future. and if anyone has noticed that the future part of the story doesnt seem as well thought out as the present, thats because its honestly not. I made notes, mapped out what I wanted to do with the present. but with the future Im kind of winging it. bad idea on my part, but Im doing the best I can with it.


End file.
